Our Club is Full of Idiots
by Sivlio
Summary: This is my collection of Ouran one-shots. Chapter 14: Hikaru is having a little trouble with French. Maybe Haruhi can shed some light on the subject.
1. Hikaru's Gender Lesson

Author's Note: Let me set the stage for this ficlet a bit. This story takes place after "Operation Haruhi and Hikaru's First Date!" but it reflects back on "The Job of a High School Host!" where Haruhi kisses Kanako.

Disclaimer: I own nothing! Well except the plot, that is mine =)

**Hikaru's Gender Lesson**

Hikaru was on his way to the Third Music Room, expecting to find it empty. There were no Club activities today, but in the back of his mind he hoped a certain Host would be taking advantage of the quiet this would offer. He opened the door and for once it was refreshing to _not _be showered in rose petals or _sakura _blossoms as he did so. His light brown eyes scanned the expansive room and finally came to rest on the petite girl he'd been looking for.

You wouldn't know Haruhi Fujioka was a girl unless you _knew _she was a girl. Since her arrival at Ouran Academy she had been dressing like a boy, and the boys' uniform she wore now hid what meager curves she had. Her brown hair was cut unusually short and styled like a boy's. As for her mannerisms, her speech, actions, and way of thinking… well they often reflected that of opposite gender. This was true now more than ever since she had been spending so much time with the Host Club.

At present, the female member of the Club who was pretending to be a male was sitting in a patch of sunlight on the floor and leaning against a wall. Haruhi was writing quite consistently on a pad of paper propped up on her knees and didn't notice the red-headed Host enter.

"You know, you could sit on the couch and then your uniform wouldn't get dirty." Hikaru said smoothly.

Haruhi was not easily startled like some people and she looked up from her paper in slight annoyance. Hikaru could tell immediately he'd said the wrong thing from the tic in the girl's forehead. "I _like_ sitting on the floor Hikaru, and I have no problem getting my uniform cleaned."

"Easy, easy, I didn't mean to offend you," the boy said gesturing with his hands in apology.

"That unfortunately comes with the territory," the girl replied, making a jab at his rich upbringing.

Hikaru sighed, wondering if it had been a good idea to come here after all. _Testy_ was a good word to describe Haruhi when her school work was interrupted. Nevertheless, he settled down gracefully next to her and asked her what she had been working on.

Haruhi stretched out her legs and put her pen down before answering. "It's an essay for our history class, have you not started it yet?"

"No, when's it due?" Hikaru asked nonchalantly.

"Next Tuesday."

"Haruhi… It's Wednesday. Why are you working on a one page essay almost a week in advance?" asked the boy, clearly baffled.

The girl looked up at him through her bangs and Hikaru couldn't help a fleeting thought at how cute she was. "I always do things early. Plus I can make a draft this way and edit it."

"I don't see why you bother. I'm sure what you've got on this page is ten times better than what I could write."

"That's only true if you believe it, Hikaru." Haruhi said quietly.

Hikaru shrugged and the cockiness was back on. "Actually the reason I came here wasn't to talk to you about school work, it was something else."

"How did you even know I was going to be here?" the girl asked, perplexed.

Kaoru's voice echoed in Hikaru's head now. _"You have to tell other people how you feel or they'll never know. And remember, whenever you care a lot for someone Hikaru, it's important you pay attention to any subtle little hints they drop." _Even though Kaoru was his younger brother, Hikaru had to admit that there were many life lessons his twin had learned that he himself had not. "I just remembered the first day you were here you said you were looking for a quite place to study. I knew there were no Club activities today, so this place would be empty and I figured you'd be taking advantage of that," Hikaru replied after some time.

"Yeah, you were obviously right about that. But what did you come to talk to me about?" Haruhi asked, curiosity evident in her large brown eyes.

Hikaru stumbled over his next thoughts, his concentration faltering with Haruhi looking at him so closely. Arai was right when he talked about Haruhi looking people in the eyes when she spoke to them. "Well, I—I mean, _Kaoru_ and I really… We wanted to apologize for what happened that night of the dance."

"What dance?"

"The one where we helped Lady Kanako get back together with her fiancé."

"_Oh_ right…" Haruhi nodded, remembering the night well. It had been wholly embarrassing for her consisting of horrible dancing, pretending to be in love with someone she didn't even know, and wearing a frilly dress and make-up. "But if you both wanted to apologize, why isn't Kaoru here?" Haruhi asked, only fully recognizing that Hikaru was alone.

Hikaru had hoped Haruhi would let that comment slide, but luck was not in his favor as he tried to come up with a good excuse and failed. "Actually to be honest Haruhi, Kaoru doesn't even know I'm here. I came of my own volition to apologize for my part in what happened that night," he explained, speaking more formally than he usually would.

Haruhi looked… puzzled. Why did she look puzzled? Hikaru supposed that was better than her refusing to forgive him, but confusion was not something he had been expecting from the female Host.

"What exactly are you apologizing for, Hikaru?" she finally asked.

He gaped at her. Could she really not know? Now was _not_ the time for her to be acting like a _boy_! This threw off Hikaru's entire strategy. "Kaoru and I, we were eating bananas when the announcement was made that you would kiss Lady Kanako instead of the Boss. Now, he's clumsy in his own right, but at some point we dropped our banana peels and they like, floated onto the stairs somehow. It was really amazing how convenient it was. Anyways, when Honey-sempai mentioned it might be your first kiss, Tamaki slipped on one of the peels when he was going to stop you from kissing Kanako. That's how he ended up pushing you into her lips."

Haruhi started laughing. She laughed so hard that her eyes started to get a little wet and before she could speak again she had to take some deep, calming breaths. "Oh Hikaru, I appreciate your apology but it's not necessary. Even if I had been upset about it, I'd be over it by now."

"You're not upset that your first kiss was with a girl?" Hikaru didn't understand.

"Haven't you realized by now that gender barriers don't really exist for me? How many of our guests do you think could pull off pretending to be a boy for as long as I have?"

Hikaru felt a little nervous, but he was bold enough to ask outright the question all the Hosts had been wondering for awhile. "Haruhi, I don't really mean to be forward with this question but, would you have preferred the um… _selection_ at Lobelia more?"

Haruhi didn't understand Hikaru's meaning for a few moments, but when she finally did her eyes went wide. "_No _Hikaru! I mean, I'm attracted to… boys," the last word was mumbled, "but I just don't think what happened was a big deal. Girls and guys just aren't that different in my mind."

"They aren't that different?" Hikaru smirked. "Haruhi, you haven't learned anything from being a Host have you?"

Haruhi tilted her head to the side and her bangs slid across to the other side of her forehead. This time, however, Hikaru was scheming and he was unaffected by her cuteness.

"The whole reason the Host Club exists is because of how different girls and boys are, Haruhi," the playful Host continued, leaning forward so he could look into the confused girl's eyes completely. He wanted her _full_ attention. "You see, boys are a little less, shall we say, subtle. Words, actions—pretty much the only thing women have on us are emotions. That being said, we don't have much of a problem with going up to a good-looking girl and talking to her. Girls, on the other hand, do. That's why the Boss wanted the Host Club to be a place for girls to be surrounded by attractive guys who treat them well and wait on them all the time. Not only does he think every girl deserves to be treated like that, he also thinks that will help them approach the guy they want to in the future.

"This strategy works well because most women love to be taken care of. Our guests know that men are usually aloof so seeing us in caring positions excites them, even if they know we're just acting for their benefit. But given the right girl, a guy wouldn't have to pretend…" Here Hikaru broke off to take in Haruhi's expression and gauge her thoughts on what he had said.

She looked pensive for a few moments, staring at the patterns the sun was making on the marble floor of the Third Music Room. When she looked up at Hikaru, it was to ask, "Where does that put me?"

"How do you mean, Haruhi?"

"I mean that I don't fit into the description of a normal girl, or at least what _you're_ telling me is normal." She looked at him pointedly.

"Of course you don't," Hikaru laughed, "If you did we wouldn't be having this conversation." He grinned. "You're different, Haruhi, and I think it has something to do with Ranka."

Hikaru's only response was silence and a bemused look from the girl sitting beside him. He bit his lip slightly, wondering if he had phrased that last sentence the best way. He wanted Haruhi to know that he _liked _the fact that she was different! In his experience, Hikaru had learned that if words failed him, as they appeared to be this time, action was the next best thing.

"Haruhi, have you considered the reason why kissing Kanako wasn't really a big deal to you?"

"No, why?"

"I think I may know. It didn't make you _feel _anything, did it?" he prodded slyly, inching closer to the female Host as he spoke.

Haruhi noticed his movement but didn't make much of it. "What exactly was it supposed to make me feel, Hikaru?"

Again the devilish twin moved in closer, like a predator cornering prey. "Don't tell me you've never had a crush on someone before! You know how your heart beats faster every time you see them, your hands get sweaty when you try to talk to them… _that's_ how you're supposed to feel."

Now, Haruhi was not the claustrophobic type, nor the type with a large personal bubble. But with Hikaru's last shift closer to her she was feeling nervous—exactly as he had described in fact. She had to prepare herself mentally to answer him. "No Hikaru, kissing Kanako did not make me feel like that."

As calm as Haruhi was acting, Hikaru could tell he was having the affect he desired on her. "Well that's not much of a first kiss then. Because I've always thought first kisses should feel like…" Hikaru closed the now small space between his and Haruhi's lips, kissing her for a few fleeting seconds before concluding, "that."

Hikaru had never been worried what other people would think about what he said or did. Impulse always controlled him and he knew if he pissed someone off, well, Kaoru would always be there for him. He had gotten a lot better since joining the Host Club but often emotion still controlled him. Arai and his date with Haruhi were good examples of that. Now, for the first time ever, Hikaru found himself worrying what someone else would think about his actions. Was Haruhi going to be angry? Would she hit him, refuse to speak to him, even quit the Club? Hikaru had never even paused to think through the repercussions of this action. In his cockiness, he just assumed Haruhi would feel the same, or at least allow him to get away with what he'd done.

"Hikaru…" Haruhi opened her large brown eyes and looked directly into his amber ones. "Did you do that because you really feel that way or for some other reason?"

Hikaru been holding his breath after Haruhi spoke his name. The pause in between his name and her question seemed like a lifetime to him, but he was able to let out his breath in a sigh of relief. Her question was easy to answer. "I really feel like that, Haruhi," he replied confidently, meeting her gaze without hesitation.

She smiled and pulled him in for another kiss. You see, the petite girl was nothing if not practical. If Hikaru had just been playing her, she reasoned it was only a kiss and she could move on. She was glad, however, that was not a path she had to travel down because _thinking_ you can do something and actually _doing_ it are two totally different things. Haruhi didn't want to have to forget the feeling of Hikaru's lips on her's and her _real _first kiss.

* * *

><p>Kaoru knocked on the bathroom door and let himself into the room where his twin brother was showering.<p>

"Hey, Kaoru," Hikaru greeted cheerily from behind the curtain.

The younger Hitachiin twin sat down on the edge of a bathtub the size of a small swimming pool before answering his brother. "Hikaru, what were you up to today? You disappeared after class and then I couldn't get you to speak on the way home."

Hikaru stopped scrubbing shampoo into his hair and dropped his hands by his sides. He had known he would have to explain his strange behavior to his younger brother, but he hadn't known it would be this soon. The words for what had happened hadn't fully formed in his head yet. Hikaru rinsed his hair and grabbed his robe from the hook next to the shower. Still dripping slightly, he went to join his brother on the edge of the bathtub.

"Kaoru, it's kind of a long story," he began slowly, waiting for the explanation to come.

Kaoru stared at Hikaru and felt his heart pounding slightly. "Hikaru, you've never had this much trouble telling me something before! What in the world is going on?"

"I guess I'm just afraid of what you'll think, Kaoru." Hikaru replied and laughed. "Today's a first for a lot of things."

Kaoru pulled Hikaru into a hug and rested his head on his older brother's shoulder. "I'll never be upset with you, you know that."

"Kaoru," Hikaru squeezed his brother tighter, "I kissed Haruhi today."

The younger twin started laughing. His body started shaking he was laughing so hard until he finally said, "Oh, Hikaru, you were afraid to tell me _that_? You silly _baka,_ I'm so happy for you!" Pulling away from Hikaru, Kaoru grinned widely at his older brother. "You're finally learning."

"Learning what?" Hikaru asked, now slightly irritated.

Kaoru just shook his head and smiled.


	2. Halloween With the Host Club

Author's Note: Just so you guys aren't surprised when you read it, this one-shot is Tamaki/Haruhi! Most of the shots here will be HikaHaru but I'll throw in some other stuff for variety. This story is something I wrote awhile ago and edited for this grouping so I hope you all enjoy it!

Disclaimer: The plot is mine, the characters, setting, and everything else belong to Bisco Hatori.

**Halloween with the Host Club**

Halloween. It was not a holiday Haruhi usually celebrated, but being a member of the Host Club, she found herself subjected to it. Thus she found herself dressed in a ridiculous, and rather revealing, black cat costume. She sighed as she looked at herself in the mirror. _Why do I put up with it? _she asked herself. Well, the obvious answer was because she had managed to rack up quite a debt with the Host Club. Yet somehow, even Haruhi herself couldn't deny there was something more. The boys in the Host Club had become like Haruhi's family; she couldn't imagine life at Ouran without them.

"Haruhi!" called the perfectly harmonized voices of the twins. "Are you done changing?"

Haruhi sighed once more. "_Hai_," she replied reluctantly.

"Let's see then," Hikaru called.

"Um… I'd rather not." Haruhi answered.

"Aw, come on, don't be like that!" the twins complained, and Haruhi could see an amber eye trying to peer through the slit in the curtains at her.

"If you're going to do that I'll just come out," she told them with a touch of humor. And so, the poor girl forced herself to step out of the dressing room.

Haruhi could feel the eyes of the six other Hosts on her. Not that she could blame them, she _was_ the only female in the room and her costume revealed a lot of skin she usually kept hidden. She felt the gaze of a certain violet-eyed boy more intensely than the rest. Tamaki was obviously having very un-father-like thoughts as his eyes drank in Haruhi without shame.

Haruhi stared down at the costume she had been forced to wear. She started to wonder how the boys had managed to get it without seeming suspicious. The black leotard stretched across her torso, leaving her arms and legs revealed. The outfit had a sweeping neck-line that was almost inappropriate for such a small chested girl. On her head Haruhi wore a black headband topped with black cat ears. From the back of the costume trailed a long cat's tail.

"Aww, Haru-chan is so cute!" Honey said throwing himself around her bare legs. Haruhi didn't mind; his gesture was like a child's. Honey was dressed up as a pumpkin, complete with jack-o-lantern face and stem hat. Haruhi smiled and ruffled Honey's hair before looking around at the other Hosts.

The twins had on matching bull-fighter's uniforms. The only difference was that Hikaru's was red and Kaoru's was blue. Only Haruhi took the time to notice who was who. Mori had on a black body guard's outfit. Dark sunglasses hid his eyes, but Haruhi could tell he was amused. Kyoya was wearing a deep purple cape with medieval looking robes. Haruhi supposed he was a wizard or something to that extent. Finally there was Tamaki. The lord of the Host Club was looking nothing short of stunning in an elaborate prince's costume.

Haruhi's first thought was to say: _That isn't fair, Tamaki-sempai isn't dressed up_, but she knew how much grief the rest of the Club would give her for saying that. So instead she said, "You all look nice."

"Haruhi!" The twins appeared on either side of her. "You didn't finish putting on your costume."

Haruhi blushed. "Well I, I couldn't figure out how to put the make-up on," she admitted.

"Oh!" the twins exclaimed, hitting their foreheads dramatically and somehow in perfect unison. Kaoru went into the dressing room to get the make-up, while Hikaru led Haruhi to a chair.

The rest of the Host Club gathered around to watch, including a very sulky Tamaki. Hikaru picked up a stick of pink costume make-up and leaned forward to rub it on Haruhi's nose.

"Ah, Hikaru, that tickles," she complained, scrunching her nose up.

"Haruhi, you must be still or I'll mess up." Hikaru chided her teasingly.

Haruhi sighed and closed her eyes, trying to ignore how close Hikaru was to her and how strange the make-up felt as he guided it across her skin. After covering the tip of Haruhi's nose in pink, Hikaru picked up the black stick and drew three whiskers on each of Haruhi's cheeks. When Hikaru cupped Haruhi's cheek in order to draw the lines better, Tamaki moped in his corner, horribly close to starting a mushroom farm.

When Hikaru and Kaoru were satisfied with Haruhi's make-up, they held up a mirror for her to see. Haruhi had to admit Hikaru had done a good job with the make-up sticks. She now had a little pink cat nose and whiskers to go with her ears and tail.

"Are you guys finally done messing around with me, or is that all you were planning on doing tonight?"

"Ah, of course not Haru-chan!" Honey said, smiling and looking excited. "We've got games, and _candy_! Lots and lots of it." Haruhi smiled and allowed Honey to take her hand and lead her over to where a table sat with a bunch of trays on it.

The candy and food the Host Club had gotten for their Halloween bash was, as expected, nothing like what those in America are accustomed to. They had trays and trays laden with the best candy from around the world. Chocolate, candy corn, licorice, and caramel apples shone in Honey's childishly bright eyes. Haruhi and the rest of the Host watched as Honey devoured two trays in what seemed like seconds. Eventually, Haruhi felt a tap on her shoulder, and turned to see Tamaki behind her.

"Hello Sempai. What's up?" she asked, noticing he was acting a little strange.

"Haruhi, a father always remembers what his daughter likes, so allow me to give you this apple. I remembered you don't care for sweets much, so I set one aside for you to have." Haruhi accepted the shiny, red fruit from Tamaki, and clasped it in her hands.

"Don't lie to her, Tamaki," Hikaru said, strutting up with a caramel apple in his hand. "You just grabbed one of the ones we left plain for apple bobbing."

"I did not!" Tamaki disagreed, flushing. Why did Hikaru _always_ have to interrupt? "I left one especially for my beautiful daughter," he added, wrapping his arms around Haruhi from behind.

Haruhi leaned her head against Tamaki's chest, looking up at his face. "Sempai, thank you for thinking of me. You don't have to fight with Hikaru, though. Why don't we play this bobbing for apples game?"

Hikaru gathered the rest of the Host Club and they all stood around a big silver bowl full of water and seven apples.

"One for each of us," Tamaki explained, as though this was his brilliance.

"Do you even know what to do, Sempai?" Haruhi asked, curious as to what was going through Tamaki's head.

Tamaki faltered in his "impressive princely" stance. "Actually no, Kyoya hasn't told us yet."

Everyone turned to the impassive, robed Kyoya, waiting for instruction. He sighed. "You have to get the apples out of the water using only your mouth. I've cut the stems off all the apples so you can't cheat," he added, smirking.

"B-but, you have an apple to get too!" Tamaki complained. "Why are you so cruel to us, Mother?"

Kyoya shook his head.

Honey went first in the apple bobbing contest. He managed to not only retrieve his apple, but also drench himself in the process. Surprisingly, when Mori went, he had no trouble getting the apple out of the water. Haruhi refused point blank to try—Hikaru teased her about not wanting to ruin the make-up he'd put on her—so they let her watch instead. Kaoru wasn't quite as graceful as Mori in getting his apple, but he succeeded all the same. When Hikaru was up, he skillfully directed the apple to the edge of the bowl, bracing it there so he could sink his teeth into it.

"That's cheating!" Tamaki accused, ever the drama queen, er, king.

"It's strategy," Hikaru retorted, slapping a high-five with Kaoru.

They decided to move on to their next game which was a guessing game. Tamaki had arranged this one so he explained the rules to everyone.

"We pick one person to be blindfolded and put different things in these bowls." He gestured to the row behind him. "That person is led down the line of bowls and has to guess what we've put in them. All they can do is touch and smell the substance."

Kaoru and Hikaru cracked identical evil grins. They could have a lot of fun with _this _game.

"Who wants to go first?" Tamaki asked, glancing around at his fellow Hosts.

"I elect Haruhi to go," Kaoru replied.

"So do I," Hikaru agreed.

Haruhi crossed her arms. The apple Tamaki had given her was still in her right hand. "Why doesn't Sempai go first? It was his idea to begin with."

"No, no I sit at the end of the table here and count up how things you guess right. Whoever guesses the most correctly wins a prize."

"Or in your case," Kyoya added to Haruhi, "a reduction on your debt."

Haruhi glared at the cold accountant of the Host Club. He always found ways of roping her into doing things by offering to lessen her debt. "Fine, fine, I'll go."

"Yay!" Honey cheered. "This is gonna be fun Haru-chan. Don't worry, I won't let them put anything too yucky in there."

"Thanks," she replied sarcastically as Tamaki pulled a black blindfold over her eyes. She was left with Tamaki while the others decided what to put in the bowls.

"You really ought to put more enthusiasm into this, Haruhi," Tamaki whispered in her ear.

The poor girl felt a shiver crawl down her spine as she tried to twist away from their alluring leader. It wasn't fair that he could do this to her without trying. And even while being in denial! "I'm sorry Sempai, this all seems a bit childish to me," Haruhi replied as coolly as possible.

"But it's fun," he chirruped, turning his beautiful eyes on her, though they had no effect.

Eventually the other Hosts called Tamaki and Haruhi back over. Haruhi held onto Tamaki's hand tighter than was necessary as he led her to the table. Tamaki remembered then that Haruhi didn't like moving when she couldn't see. The dark reminded her of thunderstorms.

Honey, Mori, Kaoru, Hikaru, and Kyoya stood behind the table that the bowls were placed on. In Honey's bowl was several scoops of cake icing. Mori had put a bunch of grapes in his. Kaoru's bowl held cooked spaghetti noodles. Hikaru had had to ponder what to put in his bowl, and finally decided on some rose petals. The last bowl, Kyoya's, had some kind of dark, fragrant liquid in it. Only he knew that it was just coffee, but he hoped to trick Haruhi by adding fragrance to it. No one said he couldn't after all. Perhaps Tamaki would learn to explain things more thoroughly after this.

Tamaki placed Haruhi beside Honey's bowl and then went to sit down on his chair at the end. Haruhi sighed, set her apple down on the table, and placed her hands inside the dish. She felt something soft and slightly sticky, and it smelled very sweet. This smell had engulfed the Third Music Room enough times for Haruhi to know what it was.

"This one is cake icing," she said confidently. Honey handed Haruhi a towel to wipe her hands off with, smiling proudly that she'd gotten his right. The rest of the Hosts had forbidden him to speak though, thinking he would tell Haruhi what was in the rest of the bowls.

Honey helped Haruhi find Mori's bowl and she guessed his right too after some time. She was debating between olives and grapes on his, and eventually decided grapes because they didn't feel hollow like black olives did. Kaoru's was a little tougher because after touching the noodles, Haruhi jerked her hands away.

Kaoru laughed. "It's not alive, Haruhi, I wouldn't do that to you." After Kaoru's reassurance, Haruhi was able to guess his right as well.

She knew Hikaru's right away from their smell. Although this was true, she spent some time stroking the soft petals. When she came out of her slight trance she announced, "Rose petals."

Kyoya smirked as Haruhi reached his bowl. She dipped her hands into the cold coffee and frowned, trying to puzzle out what it was. "It smells like syrup, but it's not thick enough," she said. Haruhi mumbled to herself for awhile and the finally looked up, right at Kyoya. "This is Kyoya's bowl and he's done something to whatever this is to make me unable to guess it. It doesn't matter though; I'll just give up on this one." Haruhi, thinking there was another bowl, dried her hands moved over again. She soon found her hands in Tamaki's hair.

The Host Lord froze, looking up at Haruhi's blindfolded face. The rest of the Club remained silent, but Hikaru was only quiet because Kaoru was holding him back.

"Did you guys put something _living_ in the bowl?" she asked, frowning in concentration again.

"Sort of," Kyoya said, smirking at the thought of what the outcome of this could be. Haruhi's hands ran through Tamaki's hair as she tried to figure out what he was. Tamaki sat still, his heart pounding hard against his chest. Once again, he was having un-fatherly thoughts about Haruhi. What was happening now was almost like one of his Tamaki-Theaters come to life. Haruhi's chest was practically in his face and it took all the restraint he had not to do something that would earn him a slap. Tamaki struggled to control his breathing while the other Hosts smiled evilly at his predicament. All but Hikaru, who was still fighting with Kaoru to get over to Haruhi.

Kyoya motioned for Kaoru to remove Hikaru from the room. Then he, Honey, and Mori followed quietly. No one said anything about Kyoya making them leave, and if they really wanted to they could watch what happened later on the security cameras.

"H-Haruhi," Tamaki said quietly. He had noticed their friends had left them alone and he wasn't exactly sure he _wanted_ to be alone in this situation. Tamaki could see Haruhi's brow furrow even deeper.

"Tamaki, why is everything so quiet all of the sudden? Why can't I figure out what they've put in this bowl?" Her fingers trailed down to Tamaki's forehead, and then to his cheeks. She continued to trace her hands over Tamaki's face, even though she knew at this point she was touching _someone's _face. She thought that perhaps this was part of the test; she would have to guess who she was touching to get her debt lessened.

Haruhi's fingers moved down the line of Tamaki's jaw, and then went back up to his cheeks and forehead. Tamaki was shivering with each shift of her fingers. Eventually, Haruhi's fingers found his lips. She traced around them delicately, feeling Tamaki's breath on her fingers and wondering why she was starting to feel sweaty. Finally, Tamaki couldn't take it anymore. He grabbed Haruhi's wrist and kissed her palm, his eyes burning with a fire he'd never felt before.

Haruhi gasped. "T-Tamaki-kun," she whispered.

"Congratulations, Haruhi, you've solved the final puzzle," he said, lifting the blindfold off her eyes.

Haruhi looked incredibly cute, standing there with her face all red and her eyes wide. "I'm so sorry, Sempai. If I'd known—"

"Shh," Tamaki said, kissing her palm once more. "It doesn't matter. In fact, I quite liked it, and I wouldn't mind if you did it again."

Haruhi flushed again, this time a deeper red, and stared at Tamaki with fearful, but almost excited eyes.

Tamaki lowered Haruhi's hand away from his lips, and threaded his fingers through hers. He leaned forward, the tips of their noses now touching. Haruhi tried to turn away. She was scared. She was scared of making things awkward between her, Tamaki, and the rest of the Host Club. She was scared of falling for this handsome, rich boy, who quite obviously didn't belong with her. What would his family think?

But Tamaki caught her chin with his free hand and forced her to look at him.

"Haruhi, let me kiss you," he pleaded, and Haruhi found she couldn't take her eyes away from his deep violet ones.

She took a deep breath as Tamaki leaned towards her again. A thought went racing through her head as she watched Tamaki get closer and closer to kissing her. _Fifty years from now, don't you want to look back on this day and be able to say you had the guts to kiss him? _Haruhi knew the answer to that question was yes. She allowed her eyes to close just before Tamaki's lips found hers.

Kissing Tamaki was like nothing Haruhi had ever experienced before. Sure, he'd kissed her on other occasions, but not like this. Those kisses before had been on her forehead or cheek and they were just friendly… or so she had thought. Now she realized that those kisses had been lingering with something else, something like… love? Haruhi pressed back against Tamaki's lips with a need she didn't quite understand.

Tamaki rose from his chair, his lips never leaving Haruhi's and he wrapped his arms around her waist. Haruhi found herself wrapping her arms around Tamaki's neck in response. It was then Tamaki decided, _If everything's going to change anyway from one little kiss, why not go all the way? _He then did something he'd only read about and seen in those stupid—he'd thought before—French romance novels and movies he'd been forced to read and watch. He shyly ran his tongue across Haruhi's lips, subtly asking for entrance.

This made Haruhi's heart pound, if possible, even harder. The thought of French kissing Tamaki was not something she'd ever expected to happen, but then again she probably _should_ have expected it. Tamaki was, after all, part French and it probably seemed quite normal for him to ask. Then again, why was he acting so timid about it? In the end, Haruhi did open her mouth for him, and Tamaki found himself thrown by the intense feelings kissing Haruhi had brought out in him. That made him tighten his hold on Haruhi's waist; they were going on this ride together.

Tamaki cautiously investigated each and every corner of Haruhi's mouth. She felt herself going weak at the knees as he did so, and she couldn't hold back the contented sigh that escaped as she let him in. Gradually, Haruhi felt Tamaki's kiss slowing and she opened her eyes as he pulled away. Tamaki chuckled as he looked at Haruhi. Her lips were swollen from kissing him and her face was deeply flushed.

"What?" Haruhi asked, becoming even more embarrassed as he laughed. "What did I do wrong?"

Tamaki shook his head. "You were just… you. Haruhi, you kiss like your personality."

"Isn't that a good thing?" Haruhi asked, unsure. This had been her first kiss after all.

"_I_ think so." Tamaki replied, and that was enough for Haruhi.

The brunette threw herself into Tamaki's chest in almost exactly the same way she did when she was scared of thunder. The Host Lord held the petite girl to him, his hands running through her short hair. "I'm sorry it took me so long, Haruhi," he said, tightening his grip on her.

For a long time Haruhi didn't answer. Finally she said, "Do you think this happens to people a lot on Halloween?"

Tamaki laughed and held Haruhi closer. "No, not usually. You should learn about mistletoe during Christmastime, though."

The new couple laughed and in some, far away security room, Kyoya smiled to himself.

* * *

><p>Author's Note 2: I usually update once a week, so I apologize for being a little late. I was out of town with no internet access. It was a lot of fun though, I went to the Lake of the Ozarks with my family and my boy =3 Thanks to everyone who reviewed andor added me to their faves!


	3. The Love Letter

Author's Note: Ahh I can't believe I forgot to post disclaimers on my first two chapters! ^^; I fixed it though so it's all good now. I hope you guys enjoy this one, it's my favorite so far.

Disclaimer: I own nothing but the plot bunnies running through my head. They can be quite vicious at times...

**The Love Letter**

Haruhi Fujioka was sitting in between Hikaru and Kaoru Hitachiin in their home room class. The students had been dismissed for lunch, but the trio was eating from boxes of food they had brought to share.

"We've never brought our own food to school before," Kaoru commented as he stole a bite of Haruhi's home-made _soba_. Ordinarily the food-loving girl would not allow this behavior, but as the twins were sharing the expensive lunches they had brought with her, she couldn't complain.

"I've always done it; it's a good way to save money and use up leftovers," Haruhi said, knowing the upper-class boys probably didn't understand the function of packing a lunch.

"That's never really been a problem for us," Hikaru mentioned unnecessarily, causing Kaoru to elbow him in the ribs. However, Haruhi was used to the Hosts making comments about their wealth, so nowadays they fell on deaf ears.

"Did they feed you in middle school the way they do here?" she asked.

The twins glanced at each other, and for them it was like looking at a mirror. Haruhi's question was innocent enough, but just the mention of their middle school years was like ripping open a recently healed wound.

"Yeah they did," Kaoru answered after a noticeably long amount of time, while Hikaru just sulked next to him.

Haruhi stared at her friends, not quite understanding what she'd done wrong. She went back to eating in silence and the boys did the same. A few moments later she heard Hikaru stand up.

"It's too quiet in here," he announced, and fled from the room without another word.

Kaoru sighed. "He really needs to stop being so touchy."

"What do you mean?" Haruhi asked.

"Hikaru gets like this whenever someone brings up something he doesn't want to talk about. Rather than just admitting it, he runs away from the problem. He needs to learn that sooner or later running won't be an option. I think he does it because he's ashamed. When we younger, we were more twisted than we are today. Most of our classmates know how we were and the progress we've made, but Hikaru doesn't want _you _to know, Haruhi."

The brunette sat there for awhile taking in what Kaoru had said. The twins were always difficult to understand because half the time they were working together, and half the time they each had their own agenda. It seemed today the latter was true for the younger Hitachiin. "I guess that's why Hikaru got so upset when we were all spending time with Arai. He doesn't like to remember the past."

Kaoru nodded. "You're right, he doesn't, but there are some important lessons you miss by blocking it out. You know we've always been popular with girls, Haruhi?"

The female Host was confused by the sudden change in conversation, but she nodded. She supposed there was a story on the way and she was particularly interested to learn about Hikaru and Kaoru.

"We've always received love letters or other confessions of love from girls," Kaoru continued. "We just weren't as, shall we say, graceful at handling them in middle school. We liked to play a version of the 'Which one is Hikaru Game?' with the girls that confessed to us, albeit a much more cruel version. If I received a letter in my desk, I would go down to meet her, pretending I was Hikaru. I'd tell her she put the letter in Hikaru's desk by mistake, but I really liked her. I would ask her if she would take me, as Hikaru, instead. Every single one of those girls said yes. Then I would call Hikaru from where he was standing nearby."

Haruhi looked like she wanted to punch Kaoru, but she restrained herself. "How could you guys _do _that? Do you know how awful that would make a girl feel?"

Kaoru bowed his head, hiding his eyes behind his bangs. "Yeah… I have to admit it wasn't something I realized on my own. Tamaki showed me. After we'd played our whole game with one girl, he was there to dry her tears. He told her she was beautiful and called her a princess. Soon enough she was smiling and entranced by him, just like any of our guests. And I thought: I wish _I_ could do that. I wanted to make girls smile instead of cry, in that moment.

"But I don't know if Hikaru has ever realized the damage we caused to all those girls. Some of them are Host Club guests now, even regulars for Hikaru and me. Part of the reason I work so hard at being a Host is because I want to make up for how I was before, but Hikaru doesn't have that drive. I want to do something to give it to him. It would make him a lot easier to work with and an all around better person." Kaoru looked up at Haruhi expectantly.

"I guess that look means you want my help," she sighed.

"Actually I need it, Haruhi." Kaoru grinned, knowing she was begrudgingly agreeing to help. "I want to give Hikaru a taste of his own medicine!"

* * *

><p>The next day after lunch, Kaoru took his brother aside.<p>

"Hey, look what I got in my desk today!" he exclaimed, waving a purple envelope in front of Hikaru's face. It was clearly addressed to "Hitachiin Hikaru" and there was something distinctly girly about the handwriting.

Hikaru's first instinct was to try and snatch the letter out of his younger brother's hand, but he was craftier than that. "What should we do about it?"

"Well it was left in my desk, but it's addressed to you. So…" Kaoru paused dramatically.

* * *

><p>Haruhi felt like a complete idiot. Was that what acting like a girl normally felt like? This practice seemed like it could open you up to get hurt so easily. She had looked at it from possibly every angle. There was the writing of the love letter. What if you misspelled something or phrased something wrong? A misunderstanding could lead to rejection and even a loss of friendship! You also had to write it in a way that showed you liked him, but you also didn't sound desperate. Haruhi remembered a certain letter written by the Host boys that represented too desperate.<p>

Next there was the delivery. Most girls simply put the note in the boy's desk. What if it got mixed in with their school papers and they didn't find it until they got home? You could be standing around waiting for them forever and think you were stood up, but you really weren't. Or you could put your letter in the wrong boy's desk, or someone could see you put your letter in his desk and then put it in someone else's! Yet if you decided to hand your letter to the boy directly, that opened a whole other can of worms. He could read it on the spot and reject you right there. Or he could just not know what to do, which would be completely awkward. And if he did decide to read it later you would be left wondering all day what his response would be! That kind of suspense might just kill Haruhi.

Finally you had the boy's decision. To accept your feelings or not to accept them? If he did accept them, there was a happy ending, but the cynic in Haruhi's mind told her the happy ending was only for the time being. If he didn't accept your feelings, there were several ways he could go about it. He could be cruel like the twins had been in middle school, or kind such as Suzushima, the boy Haruhi had pretended to like. Of course there was everything in between to contemplate as well.

_Kami_, where were those blasted twins? Haruhi did not usually dwell on the topic of love and love letters, but since she was standing here with her own letter on the line, she could think of _nothing_ else. And all these thoughts mixed together had her feeling stupid. This was why she had stayed away from confessions of love in middle school! Not that this one was real of course, it was all part of Kaoru's plan. It still made her feel silly though.

Finally she saw a tall, red-haired figure approaching. She got up off the carved bench she had been sitting on and met him halfway. They were standing somewhere along the hedge maze on the grounds of Ouran where the Host Club often played games from Haruhi's childhood.

He didn't recognize her at first. She had styled her hair, put on make-up, and changed into girls' street clothes. The dress she was wearing was strapless and divided into three colors. It was white on her chest, turquoise on her stomach, and purple down to mid-thigh where it flared out a little bit. It was simple, yet like anything the boys saw Haruhi wear that wasn't her uniform it made him blush.

"Hey Haruhi," he called finally, lengthening his strides to meet her.

She smiled. "Hey. Do you wanna walk or sit down in the gazebo?" she gestured to where she had been sitting when he had approached.

"Let's walk," he decided, and they strode among the green leaves and roses. The red-head was unusually quite, gathering his thoughts. "Why did you leave that letter in Kaoru's desk for me?"

"Because I knew you'd come anyway," Haruhi replied simply.

He stopped suddenly. "I like you a lot, Haruhi. I'm sorry it took me so long to realize it."

"I like you too, Hikaru." Haruhi confessed.

Suddenly there was a commotion as someone burst through the hedges from the other side. The other Hitachiin brother was standing there, his eyes angry and hurt. He was glaring at Haruhi and his brother.

"Why? You're supposed to _know_! You're supposed to be able to tell us apart! And now, in _this_ situation? Why would you choose this time to forget?" The real Hikaru tore off through the maze, branches and leaves left behind in his wake.

Haruhi turned to Kaoru, the twin she had been speaking to the whole time. "Kaoru, he's really upset!" she worried.

"I told you he would be, Haruhi," replied the younger Hitachiin brother, running a hand through his hair regrettably.

"Yeah, but did you see his eyes? He's not just upset about me not being able to tell you guys apart, there's something else… something deeper than that." When Haruhi looked back at Kaoru and realized he was making no move to go after his brother, she sighed in exasperation and ran after Hikaru herself.

In the silence that remained after his brother and friend ran off, Kaoru made his way to the gazebo to await their return. He knew the two of them needed this. Quietly, Kaoru had stood by for over a year and watched how the two people he cared about most acted around each other. He had observed how their relationship and feelings had grown for each other, but how they themselves couldn't figure out what it meant or what was truly happening. This love letter was not a lesson to teach Hikaru how the girls he'd abused had felt in middle school, despite what Kaoru had told Haruhi. This was to teach the pair of them how they felt about each other.

* * *

><p>Hikaru didn't know where he was running to, but running had always served him well in the past when he didn't want to face something. He was a faster runner than anyone who ever tried to come after him, even Kaoru, so that meant he could escape from anything. Hedges whipped past Hikaru's eyes, the green only occasionally broken by a splash of color from a rose. Eventually the emerald sea ended as he reached the middle of the maze. There was an ornate fountain splashing merrily in the setting sun, and Hikaru wanted nothing more than to smash it. Why should it be able to be so beautiful and sound so happy when his heart felt like it was in pieces?<p>

Haruhi knew she wasn't the fastest runner or a girl with the best endurance in the world. In fact, she knew that Hikaru had a significant advantage because of his longer legs. Nevertheless she pushed these logical thoughts aside and allowed her worry for him to take over. She hadn't meant to hurt his feelings like that. The look on his face had completely taken her aback, so much so she felt her pace speeding up at the memory of it. Would he be able to forgive her? People like Hikaru, so closed and aloof, did not forgive easily.

Sooner than she expected, Haruhi reached the center of the maze. She had never actually been here before, but she had seen it from the windows of the school building. There was a fountain with benches surrounding it and sitting on one of the benches was her red-haired quarry.

"Hikaru!" Haruhi panted, running over to the bench with a burst of speed she didn't think she still had the energy for.

Hikaru jumped to his feet at the sound of his name and saw Haruhi dashing his way. Before he had really made up his mind whether to flee again or not, she had grabbed his wrist. Apparently realizing her forwardness she released him immediately, a slight pink color to her cheeks, but at this point Hikaru had no intentions of leaving. Haruhi was the first person in a long time to chase him, the first person _ever _to chase him long enough to catch up with him. Because if truth be told, every time Hikaru ran it was never for very long. If the person was only determined enough to catch him, they probably would have when he stopped. Haruhi was that person.

"Hikaru, I'm… I'm sorry," she breathed, trying to get the words out between gasps. Once she had caught her breath she continued. "I didn't mean to upset you like that. Kaoru had this idea that we could show you how all those middle school girls felt when you hurt them if I pretended I couldn't tell you guys apart."

"So the letter… the conversation… It was all a set up?" Hikaru asked, his eyes getting that same wounded look from before.

Haruhi opened her mouth, starting to say, "Yes, it was all part of Kaoru's plan." As upset as Hikaru looked, she couldn't lie to him. Yet she stopped before she made any sound. Thinking about the words she'd written in her note to Hikaru, she realized not a single one of them had been untrue.

"No…" she replied, sounding almost as shocked as Hikaru looked. "It wasn't just a set up. I meant every word, Hikaru. I care about you a lot. Perhaps the only word in that letter that I'm not ready to own up to quite yet is 'love.'"

Hikaru stood there feeling dumbfounded for a moment, the meaning of Haruhi's words taking longer than usual for his brain to fully comprehend. When he finally snapped out of his stupor, he pulled the petite girl into his arms. "That's ok," he laughed, "The only time you used it was before you signed your name."

* * *

><p>The sun had almost completely disappeared behind the main building of Ouran Academy when Kaoru finally saw two silhouettes approaching the gazebo. He noted with satisfaction that his brother and Haruhi were holding hands, although the female Host looked slightly nervous with this development.<p>

"I take it you two made up," Kaoru said with a slight smirk.

"Yeah, _Haruhi_ and I made up, but that's yet to be said for _you_ and I, Kaoru," Hikaru threatened. However, he was smiling as he said it, and Kaoru knew Hikaru was thanking him.

"We need to get off the grounds before someone catches us, it's after hours," Kaoru said and he started leading the way out of the dim maze. The couple followed behind him quietly. The younger Hitachiin heard them exchange words about a ride, and eventually it was decided that Haruhi would be dropped off by their car. She didn't sound too thrilled by this idea, but it was late and her father was probably worried.

The car met them at the school gate. Haruhi started to give the driver directions but he waved them away with a gloved hand.

"Why does your driver know where I live?" she asked, her eyes slightly wide.

"He knows where all of our friends live," the twins responded together with a perfectly timed shrug. Then they ushered her into the middle seat.

The movement of the car soon had Haruhi nodding off, although the ride from Ouran to her apartment wasn't a long one. Hikaru found himself with her head on his shoulder and no idea what to do about it. She was adorable, and he knew it would be impossible for him to wake her when they arrived at her house.

"Kaoru," he began.

"Hmm?"

"How did you know?"

Kaoru didn't have to ask his twin to clarify the question. "I've watched the two of you for over a year now. It wasn't very hard. You're both just remarkably oblivious," he chuckled.

"Thanks," Hikaru said, his eyes on Haruhi's sleeping form.

She woke when the car stopped and Hikaru insisted on escorting her to the front door. "Who knows what kind of miscreants could be lurking in the darkness?" was his reasoning.

"Now you're sounding like Sempai," Haruhi jibed, but she let the red-head accompany her with little struggle.

Haruhi led Hikaru up the stairs by the hand and fished her keys out of her school bag.

"Good night," she said, smiling tiredly up at him.

"Good night," Hikaru replied, bending down to kiss her cheek before heading quickly back down the stairs. He didn't stick around for Haruhi's reaction, so Hikaru clearly wasn't as confident as he tried to appear. After he got back in the car, he demanded they wait until she got in the door before driving off.

Haruhi's cheeks reddened from Hikaru's kiss and she fumbled trying to get her key in the lock. When she finally got the door open, she found Ranka waiting for her, nearly sitting on the front step.

"Har-u-hi!" her father cried, trying to grab her into an embrace.

Haruhi dodged him, though narrowly, backing into the kitchen. "Dad, what the heck's going on?"

"I saw you with that Hitachiin boy and now you're going to be explaining where you were tonight!" Ranka sounded more excited than angry.

Haruhi sighed. It was going to be a long night.


	4. Lotion

AN: This is just a little Hikaru/Haruhi drabble that popped into my head. Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I'm not nearly original enough to publish my own story. I can, however, mess with ones that are already there ;)

**Lotion**

It wasn't the most marked different between Hikaru and Kaoru, Haruhi knew. In truth, she didn't start to notice it until she found herself spending more and more time with only the eldest Hitachiin twin. Kaoru would suddenly have something very urgent to do or mysteriously go missing, leaving Haruhi and Hikaru alone. It was during these random times together that Haruhi had discovered her favorite difference between the twins. So when Hikaru asked she was able to answer without hesitation.

"You smell different than Kaoru."

"Huh?" Hikaru asked, his expression perplexed. It was not the answer he had expected from the girl he was slowly falling in love with.

"What, is that weird?" Haruhi wondered.

"No… I just didn't think it was something anyone would ever notice," he replied.

Haruhi considered Hikaru for a moment. She couldn't be sure, having never felt like this before, but she thought she just might have a crush on him. Eventually she said, "Well, usually the two of you are together so no one can tell that the smell is coming just from you. We've just been spending so much time together recently that I started to notice. What is it anyway?"

"It's lotion," the red-head admitted a little apprehensively. "My skin gets kinda dry if I don't use it."

Haruhi laughed and sat down next to him. "You're such a girl, Hikaru." Seeing Hikaru was embarrassed, Haruhi couldn't help teasing him a little bit, the same as he would do to her. Yet her gaze softened as she continued, "I really like it, it smells good."

Hikaru was surprised at her closeness, since Haruhi wasn't usually one to voluntarily be near people lest she show dependence. Thus the young man took this as sign of good fortune and put his arm around Haruhi. Hikaru thought he heard her take a deep breath as her head rested on his chest, but whether it was because she nervous or because she wanted to take in his scent he didn't know.

"All of this because of my lotion," Hikaru laughed.

Haruhi smiled along with him. "Yeah."

* * *

><p>AN: I'm sorry this was so short, I've got a lot of stuff going on right now. My work is being dumb and on top of that my best friend is leaving for another state on Monday and I won't see him again until Christmas. Really upsetting and stressful = However I will tell you this is a three part drabble and I will either be posting the next part or another one-shot sooner than I usually update to make up for the shortness.


	5. Lotion Part Two

AN: Part two of **Lotion**! I've gotten some amusing reviews for the first one. Maybe that means I'm a weirdo for noticing how guys smell cause that's kinda where insipration for the story came from. Ah well, enjoy =)

Disclaimer: I asked Bisco Hatori if I could have _just _the Hitachiin twins, but sadly I can't even own them...

**Lotion: Part Two**

Haruhi was still getting used to the way Hikaru's smell would envelope her every time he got near her. Not only that, she was still getting used to being _with _Hikaru. It had only been a few days since they had formally told the Host Club they'd been seeing each other. Kaoru, of course, knew already and had smiled at his friends' reactions. They'd each been predictable in their own way. Tamaki had fussed, Honey had cheered and congratulated the couple, Mori had nodded approvingly, while Kyoya had shrugged and continued working.

At present the Host Club members were cleaning up after their latest event, which had been decorated like a traditional ski lodge. Haruhi was busy sweeping up the fake snow when she felt arms encircle her from behind, causing her to drop her broom.

She inhaled deeply, as she always did whenever he embraced her, before chiding, "Hikaru, I can't go home until we clean this place up."

"Are you really in such a hurry to leave me?" he teased, whispering it in her ear as though it were a secret.

Haruhi pushed her boyfriend off of her quite suddenly, his breath causing a shudder to run down her spine. "I have homework," she replied, resuming her sweeping as though she hadn't overreacted.

"You're no fun!" Hikaru complained, taking the broom from her and pulling her towards him once more.

Haruhi sighed and allowed herself to be pulled into his arms, into the familiar comfort of his scent. It was easier, she decided, to let Hikaru have his way than to fight him. This way he'd stop bothering her sooner and they could get back to doing what they _should_ be doing.

Hikaru ran his hand through Haruhi's short hair gently. "You still had some of that fake snow in your hair," he explained, blushing lightly. He always seemed to get embarrassed whenever he made a romantic gesture that was sweet rather than flirtatious.

"Thanks, but I don't think that's why you came back here," Haruhi said pointedly.

Hikaru rolled his eyes. "Thanks Haruhi, way to make a guy feel wanted. Can't I come back here just to talk to you?"

"Not when we have other things to do." Haruhi pulled away from him, now that she had determined that his coming back there was pointless.

However, Hikaru wasn't about to give up. He wanted his girlfriend's attention dammit! Her full attention for _once_ during the day. So he grabbed her hand again and pulled her towards him, but instead of capturing her in another embrace he captured her lips in a kiss.

_Shock_. That was the fist emotion Haruhi felt. Then a small part of her wanted to push Hikaru away for making their first kiss so unromantic and childish. Eventually, Haruhi stopped thinking enough to let her instincts take over. She realized she finally had a taste to go with Hikaru's, now even more overwhelming, scent. Because really, what good is smelling chocolate chip cookies if you don't get to eat them? The kiss was sending her reeling, her senses filled with nothing but Hikaru.

That is, until there was a quiet cough behind them. Haruhi hurriedly broke the kiss and met Kyoya's impassive face with her flushed and embarrassed one.

"If you two are done I'd like to lock up the room," he told them.

"Well Kyoya-sempai, you've got great timing," Hikaru joked, leading Haruhi by the hand towards the front of the Third Music Room.

"'You've got great timing,' is that all you have to say?" Haruhi demanded once she and Hikaru had walked out of earshot of the Music Room. She was still pink in the face.

Hikaru laughed. "Say Haruhi, I know you like the way I smell. How about the way I taste?"

Haruhi simply gaped at her boyfriend, completely speechless.


	6. Lotion Part Three

Author's Note: Without further ado, I give you, the last part =)

Disclaimer: Not mine.

**Lotion: Part Three**

It started off perfectly innocent. Hikaru called Haruhi on Sunday to help him study for their upcoming math test and, naturally, she agreed. This found the two of them lying on their stomachs in Hikaru's bed as Haruhi checked over the latest set of problems she'd had her boyfriend solve. She bit the end of her pencil as she focused on his work, and it was then Hikaru decided having his girlfriend in his bed was extremely distracting. Especially when she was biting her pencil like that.

"Haruhi are you stressed?" Hikaru asked in his "I'm up to no good" voice.

Haruhi was too focused to notice his tone or when he sat up and slid around behind her. "Not really, why do you—?"

Her question was cut off short as Hikaru started massaging her shoulders. Startled at the sudden touch, Haruhi sat up quickly.

"I beg to differ. Come here and relax, Haruhi," Hikaru insisted, patting a spot on the bed right in front of him.

Haruhi relented. They had been working diligently all morning, so she would allow this small diversion. She moved in front of Hikaru and felt his skillful hands moving across her shoulders and back. Then something cool was on her arms followed by Hikaru's warm hands. It took Haruhi a moment to realize that he was using the lotion she loved to massage her. Now Hikaru's scent was not only around her, it was a part of her.

Tilting her head back to look at him, before Haruhi knew it Hikaru's mouth came crashing down on her's and everything was lips, tongue, teeth, and a whole lot of Hikaru. His lotion covered hands found their way under her shirt and it was both hot and cold at the same time on her newly exposed skin. Hikaru continued to kiss her as he explored the contours of her back.

Eventually they broke the kiss and Hikaru spent some time rubbing the rest of the lotion into Haruhi's back. He could feel his heart racing as he did and wondered if her's was doing its own wild dance. Once he was satisfied all the lotion was rubbed in, Hikaru pulled his hands out from under his girlfriend's shirt.

Haruhi straightened her clothes and broke the long silence. "W-was there anything else you needed help with?" she asked.

Hikaru burst out laughing at the double entendre. "Haruhi you're adorable," he told her. "But no, I think I'm fine."

If Haruhi's face was any redder, smoke would surely be coming out of her ears. She packed up all of her things and made a beeline for Hikaru's bedroom door.

"Let me walk you out," he said.

Haruhi knew there was no use fighting and allowed her boyfriend to take her hand. In the end she was happy she had because she probably would have gotten lost on her way to the front door.

"Have a good afternoon," Hikaru said, kissing her forehead and walking off, waving as he disappeared.

Haruhi smiled as she watched him go, then she turned to the Hitachiin's rather large front door.

"Haruhi?"

The poor girl jumped at the sound of her name. She turned around to see Kaoru approaching.

"H-hey, Kaoru," she breathed.

He paused right next to her, a puzzled look on his face. "Haruhi, why do you smell like Hikaru's lotion?"

"Why does it always come back to that stupid lotion?" Haruhi asked before running out of the Hitachiin Estate without further explanation, leaving behind a very confused Kaoru.

* * *

><p>Author's Note: When I first planned this story, it wasn't going to be in three parts, Part Three was actually the one I thought of first. Then I decided I should put in some background so it was actually believable that this would happen. I really like how it turned out and I hope you all do too! Next week will be something completely different.<p> 


	7. Ailebol's Restaurant and Bar

Author's Note: Have you guys ever been to a themed restaurant before? You know the ones where the employees dress up and act like Disney characters or they're supposed to be rude to you? That's what sparked the idea for this story.

Disclaimer: I do not own the wonderful Bisco Hatori's 'Ouran High School Host Club.'

**Ailebol's Restaurant and Bar**

Haruhi Fujioka checked herself in the full length mirror back in the staff room, straightening her bowtie upon realizing it was crooked. It was almost time for her shift at the highly acclaimed Ailebol's Restaurant to start. She was a relatively new worker, only in her second week, but her manager seemed to have a soft spot for her.

"Haruhi! Thank goodness you haven't gone out yet," Jun, the one of her fellow waiters, came rushing into the common area from a changing room.

"What's up Jun?" Haruhi asked, turning away from her reflection to face her flustered looking coworker.

"Could you zip up my dress?" he asked, blushing a deep scarlet.

Yes, you read that right. Ordinarily this would be a ridiculous request, a _boy_ asking for his _dress_ to be zipped up, however, the reason people knew about Ailebol's and kept coming back was largely because of its atmosphere. At this restaurant, girls dressed in tuxedos and boys in dresses. It was something unique that gave them a reputation—people couldn't _not _eat at Ailebol's if they were visiting Japan.

"Sure thing," replied Haruhi, acting as though this was the most natural thing in the world. It hadn't taken her very long to get used to the peculiar uniforms at Ailebol's, mostly because Haruhi herself was not known to wear the most feminine attire. It was something her father always complained about. Jun was still getting used to the idea—and the heels—although Haruhi had to admit it was probably harder for the boys to adjust than the girls.

"Alright, let's go!" Jun attempted to say in a sort of go-getter voice that only just fell flat.

Haruhi laughed. "It's ok Jun, there's a reason they hired you, you know. Not everyone can do this job since they struggle so much more with the same thing you are."

"You think so?" he asked, perking up.

"Yeah," she replied, smiling.

"To be honest with you Fujioka, I didn't even know what this place was like when I applied here. My mom raved about it so much that I came by one night after hours, dropped my name, and they interviewed me the next day. Imagine my surprise when they started handing out the dresses." He chuckled. "You seem so nonchalant about the whole thing, sometimes I wonder if you somehow fooled the managers into thinking you were a girl for the interview just so you wouldn't have to wear this monstrosity."

"Thanks a lot Jun," Haruhi said sarcastically, making a face. Her team made _plenty_ of jokes about not being able to tell if she was a boy or a girl. "Let's get to work."

As soon as they entered the restaurant, they were accosted by their manager. "Look at the two of you, just _magnificent_!" she cried dramatically. "Here at Ailebol's we try to show everyone that there is no need for barriers between genders and you, my dears, are the embodiment of our goal! Now go… Wine and dine our customers with the treatment only Ailebol's can offer." She wiped an actual tear from her eye before disappearing into the crowd.

"Does Manager Benibara do that every time we come out of the staff room?" Jun asked looking slightly embarrassed. All of the patrons were staring at them and their "magnificence."

"She doesn't do it to everyone. It was just your bad luck you were with me. For some reason she seems to like to put on a show whenever I'm around," Haruhi replied. Then she went off to her first table.

About an hour after her shift had begun, a group of six boys entered the restaurant together. They were all extremely good-looking and wearing what looked like school uniforms. There was a tall blonde with lively violet eyes; red-headed twins who took in their surroundings as though they were bored; a small boy blonde boy who must be a younger sibling in elementary school; a dark-skinned, dark-haired teen; and finally a boy with black hair and glasses. They were seated immediately in Haruhi's section, although there must have been at least three groups ahead of them.

Haruhi walked over to their table casually, taking her pencil from behind her ear and pulling her notepad out from her pocket. She hadn't even gotten a chance greet the boys and ask them what they wanted before they were speaking.

"Oi, what's up with this?" the twins said in unison. "Why isn't this boy wearing a dress?"

Haruhi, though slightly impressed with their ability to not only speak in perfect sync but also harmonize, could not ignore the fact that they were insulting her. However, she also had to remember the fact that she was in a service position and had to be polite. "Pardon me, but I am a girl. My name is Haruhi and I'll be your waitress this evening. Can I get you all anything to drink?"

"Of course princess," the tall blonde said, reaching out and taking her hand in his. "I hope you'll forgive my companions' rudeness, but not all of us are so callous. You are quite beautiful, even in men's clothing."

"Tamaki," the boy with the glasses interrupted. "Just tell her what you want to drink; you don't have to charm her. She's a common waitress not a potential wife."

The boy called Tamaki started weeping profusely at his friend's comment. "How could you be so _cruel_ Kyoya?"

"Haru-chan, right?" the little boy piped up.

"_Haruhi_," the bewildered girl replied, not sure where to look, who to talk to, or what to think.

"I'll have some lemonade, and Takashi will have some too, right?" He smiled sweetly and indicated the darker skinned boy next to him.

"Mmm," was the only response from him.

Haruhi supposed that was a yes and said, "Ok so I've two lemonades, what do you two want?" she asked, turning back to the twins.

"We'll have," the first one began.

"Water with lemon," the second one finished.

"Tea," Kyoya said before Haruhi could even ask.

Finally she returned to the dramatic blonde Tamaki, who somehow reminded her of her manager. "Sir?" she prompted.

"It would be my honor to partake in a refreshing glass of lemonade as well, but only if it is made by your hands, my dear." Upon finishing his request, Tamaki conjured a rose out of thin air, or so it seemed, and offered it to Haruhi.

Before the stunned girl could even decide whether or not to take the flower, Benibara was suddenly Karate-chopping Tamaki's wrist away from Haruhi.

"Do not be tempted by these striking boys, maiden!" she cried, wrapping her arms around the waitress. "They will all, especially Tamaki Suoh, try to charm you with a smokescreen of words and beauty, but we know the truth! Women stand so much stronger independently of a man and his tricks."

"Who is this crazy?" the twins chimed in.

"Hikaru, Kaoru!" Tamaki bonked them on the heads before returning to his seat. "While she may have some unique views, she is still a lady a must be treated as such. Please forgive me if I gave the wrong impression. My intent is not to deceive, it is to—"

But Benibara had struck him in the face and whisked Haruhi away to the kitchen. "I cannot allow you to see to that table, Haruhi!" she cried.

"Manager Benibara, with all due respect, I really don't think they mean any harm. In fact, Tamaki—Suoh was it?—he actually reminds me of you the way he over dramatizes everything."

Benibara clutched at her chest, using the wall to support herself. "Maiden! _Never _compare me to that buffoon!"

Haruhi just stared at her and waited. When Benibara didn't say anything else she went to make drinks for the group of boys, which had her manager sobbing once again. She put them on a tray and carefully dodged her fellow coworkers to make her way back to the table full of "deceitful" boys.

"Sorry about my manager," she apologized as she passed out each drink to its respective person, "she's extremely opinionated, but she generally brings in more customers than she offends into leaving."

"You don't have to tell us." Kyoya said, waving a hand dismissively. "We know of Benibara Amakusa. She goes to St. Lobelia's Academy, a prestigious all girls school in the area."

"Yeah… how did you know that?" Haruhi asked.

"The six of us attend Ouran Academy… Being that Ouran and Lobelia are the highest ranking high schools in this district, we often hold events together." The way Kyoya continued to smirk at her as he spoke, as though he didn't feel she was worth his time or the information he was giving her, was really starting to irritate Haruhi.

"You said you guys go to Ouran Academy, right?" she clarified.

"That's right, Haru-chan!" the little boy answered.

Before speaking again, Haruhi came to the conclusion that this "little" boy was not actually an elementary schooler as she had first thought. Somehow he was in high school with the rest of them. Glossing over that she continued, "I took an honor's student scholarship test to get into Ouran Academy. They said I received the highest score of anyone they'd ever tested. But I turned it down so I could go to Fugoshi High with my friends."

Every single one of the boys looked impressed with Haruhi; even Kyoya dropped his all-knowing smirk and considered her thoughtfully.

"I didn't know,"

"They let commoners into our school." Hikaru and Kaoru phrased in their "we-can-complete-each-other's-sentences" way.

"We give out a handful of scholarships, but the test is extremely tough. I took it myself just out of curiosity and barely scored high enough to receive the grant," Kyoya admitted.

"That means Haru-chan is really smart!"

"Yeah," Takeshi agreed with the smaller boy.

There was a long pause in which the Ouran boys simply looked at their waitress with a new found respect, and it was in this uncomfortable spotlight that Haruhi remembered that she _was_ a waitress and she should be doing her job. "Um… what would you all like to eat?" she asked, a little nervous under their stares.

"Cake!" the small blonde cried.

"Mitsukuni…" Takeshi's deep voice chided quietly.

"Yeah Honey-sempai, have some dinner first." Kaoru—or was it Hikaru?—agreed.

Honey turned to Haruhi, his big, child-like eyes shinning with unshed tears. "Haru-chan, can't I have some cake?"

Haruhi was stronger than most people when it came to resisting the cuteness of things such as small animals and children, yet she still was not completely immune to Honey. "Why don't you order something off the kid's menu and that way you'll still have room for dessert?" she suggested.

"That's a great idea!" Honey cried, jumping out of his seat and hugging Haruhi around the legs.

Unfazed, Haruhi asked the boys what they wanted to eat, taking down their orders on her notepad, making a mental observation that they were ordering some of the most expensive items on the menu. "I'll put that right in for you," she assured them, bowing to excuse herself. After handing the cook her order, Haruhi ran into Hinako, a first year attending Lobelia with Benibara.

"Hey Haruhi, Benibara told me you've got an interesting table tonight." Hinako confronted her.

"Yeah, they're different alright. You go to Lobelia too Hinako, so maybe you can tell me what exactly they're up to. It's almost like those boys are trying to put on a show for me."

"That's precisely what they're doing Haruhi!" Hinako exclaimed, pulling the brown haired girl over to spy on the Ouran boys. "They're part of a Host Club at Ouran Academy. They lure poor, unsuspecting maidens into their clutches and shower false pretenses upon them! Their trickery must be stopped!"

Haruhi had filtered most of Hinako's rant out, having learned from her weeks working here that many of the staff liked to speak in fluff. The important part she had gathered from her coworker was that these boys were in a club together. "Hang on Hinako, isn't a Host Club just for entertainment? What's the harm in that?"

Twenty minutes later, Haruhi was sorry she'd asked. Hinako went on and on by herself for quite some time about the dangers of boys "entertaining" impressionable young maidens, and pretty soon Benibara overheard their conversation and decided to join in. It was the cook that finally saved her.

"Haruhi, your order's up," he called.

"Thanks Manabu," she breathed, placing the food on a tray.

"No problem kid, you looked like you needed to escape from those harpies anyways." Manabu let out a deep laugh, his rotund belly shaking with the sound.

Haruhi smiled. "They're a little headstrong, but they make the job exciting."

"They annoy the shit out of me, but what do I know?"

"I'm going to pretend like I didn't hear you say that," the waitress replied good-naturedly. Then Haruhi turned to leave Manabu to his cooking and to bring the Host Club their food.

"Look, Haru-chan is bringing our food!" Honey announced her arrival excitedly.

Haruhi passed out all the food to each of the boys, managing to remember who got what, except in the twins' case where she put the dishes they had ordered within arms length of them both. Of course, this wasn't so much forgetting which twin had asked for which meal as it was not knowing who was Kaoru and who was Hikaru in the first place. She was starting to notice subtle differences between the two already though.

"How does everything look?" she asked politely.

"Mmm," was the consensus mumble from the six full mouths.

Haruhi laughed at their complete, well, boyish behavior and said, "I'll get you all some refills on your drinks and be back to check on you in a few minutes."

Tamaki swallowed the food he'd had in his mouth when Haruhi had spoken to them and smiled as he watched her walk away. "There's something surprisingly adorable about her, isn't there?"

The rest of the Hosts nodded, excluding Kyoya, who pulled a black notebook out of his pocket and jotted something down inconspicuously. When the waitress returned with their refills, Kyoya noticed how Tamaki seemed to vie for her attention, treating her like one of his favored guests. It wasn't long before Hikaru and Kaoru were in on the game and the poor girl was having her attention pulled this way and that like a spectator at a tennis match.

"I forbid this to continue!" Again, out of nowhere, Benibara appeared, this time leaping onto the Host Club's table in a defensive karate stance in an effort to defend Haruhi. "I have allowed our beautiful maiden Haruhi to wait your table in a gracious display of kindness, but I cannot permit you to all to use your mind tricks on her impressionable young mind."

"Manager Benibara, please get down from the table, you're standing in the bread basket," Haruhi deadpanned.

She seemed slightly chagrinned. "Oh, you're right, Haruhi." Benibara slowly got off the table.

"Furthermore," the waitress continued, "I'm not really as 'impressionable' as you seem to think. It's just amusing to watch them try to seduce me."

Tamaki turned white with shock and fled to a corner of the restaurant where he proceeded to start growing what looked like mushrooms. The twins considered the brown-haired girl with surprise in their eyes and then cracked identical amused grins. They stood up and went to either side of Haruhi, Hikaru on her right and Kaoru on her left. Haruhi looked up at them quizzically as they rested their arms on her head, which happened to be the perfect height for an armrest.

"Just give it time," Kaoru started.

"You'll fall for one of us eventually," Hikaru added with certainty.

"Even if we have to come to this restaurant everyday!" they finished together.

"Absolutely not," Haruhi said, pushing the twins off her. "I might be able to deal with the six of you for a night here and there but everyday would be exhausting."

Honey interrupted Hikaru and Kaoru's cajoling to ask, "Haru-chan can I have some cake now?"

Haruhi had almost completely forgotten she was at work until the small boy reminded her. "Of course Honey, what kind would you like?"

"All of them!"

Haruhi just stared at him without writing anything down. She looked around at the rest of the Host Club trying to gauge their reactions and see if Honey was kidding. None of the other boys flinched. Finally she asked, "Are you sure you can eat all that cake?"

"Of course!" Honey replied.

He _wasn't_ kidding. Honey had devoured everything within seconds of Haruhi placing each slice of Ailebol's twenty-three different cake flavors on the table. The waitress stood there in shock, her jaw practically on the floor.

"This is not usual for Honey-sempai," Tamaki said. He had apparently returned from his mushroom farm to join them again.

Haruhi seemed relieved. "Oh, that's good—"

"He usually eats more!" the taller blonde interrupted.

"Nothing about these people should surprise me anymore…" Haruhi whispered to herself.

"Tamaki," Kyoya spoke up, "we need to leave soon."

"Kyoya you're such a spoil sport," Tamaki whined.

Kyoya held out his hands apologetically, but it didn't seem sincere, as he directed his gaze to Haruhi.

"Right, I'll get the bill," she said stonily. Despite her comments about the Host Club being exhausting and coming on to her, this was the most fun Haruhi had ever had at work and she would be sad to see them go.

She went back to the cash register and rang them up, politely not looking at the total, although Haruhi knew their meal was somewhere in the vicinity of one-thousand yen. Damn these rich boys! She dragged her feet a little as she walked back to the table and handed the check out to Kyoya, but he wordlessly gave her a credit card without even asking to see the total.

"Are you sure you don't want to…?"

"Just run it."

"Ok," Haruhi left the bill on the table anyway and went to run the card.

When everything was cleared and paid for, the boys stood up to make their way out.

"Bye-bye Haru-chan!" Honey said with a smile. "We'll come back to visit you soon."

Hikaru and Kaoru smirked. "See ya,"

Takeshi put his hand on Haruhi's head and ruffled her hair before going to catch up with Honey.

"I don't see why everyone is making such a big deal about this." Kyoya sighed, giving Haruhi nothing more than a nod as he passed.

Finally Tamaki was the only one left. "Haruhi, I hope you enjoyed your evening, although you were forced to wait on those of us who don't deserve your time. Please allow us to return the favor sometime."

"Um… ok," Haruhi agreed, although she was not quite sure what she was agreeing to.

"Farewell," Tamaki finished, kissing Haruhi's hand before disappearing with the rest of his Club.

Haruhi stood there looking after them for awhile before hurriedly seeing to her newest table.

At the end of the night, after all the guests had eaten their fill, the tables had been cleaned, and the employees had changed back into their street clothes, Haruhi approached Hinako again.

"Hey, sorry to bother you again, but I'm still a little curious about those boys that came in earlier tonight."

Hinako, who was exhausted from working all night, didn't start up another rant like before. The girl was a lot like a terrier puppy—she used up so much energy during the day that at night she collapsed. "What is it Haruhi?" Hinako prompted, stifling a yawn.

"Who exactly are they?" she asked. "I mean, when they came in they were seated immediately and they spent over a thousand yen on dinner and they're _high schoolers_!"

"Well they're all heirs to prominent families to start off with," Hinako began, "Tamaki Suoh's family owns real estate including Ouran Academy, Kyoya Ootori's father owns the Ootori Group dealing in medical supplies, Mitsukuni Haninozuka and Takeshi Morinozuka come from martial art families, while the Hitachiin twins have a famous fashion designer for a mother. They're said to be exceptional in their own ways as well."

Haruhi appeared as though that was a lot to take in, but the basics were easy to understand—they all had money, reputation, and they weren't afraid to use it. "Thanks Hinako…" she said, bowing to take her leave.

* * *

><p>A few weeks later, the Host Club was a distant, but pleasant memory in Haruhi's mind. She had really started getting into the swing of things at Ailebol's and she was making a lot of money to save for college. The waitress had all but forgotten about Tamaki's offer to "return the favor" until one sunny Friday just before the summer holidays ended.<p>

"Haruhi!" her over zealous, transvestite father called from the kitchen. "You have mail." Ranka slid the envelope into his daughter's hands as delicately as any woman would and watched as she, rather unladylike, tore it open.

The letter within was printed on thick, expensive writing paper with a crest in the upper right hand corner. The handwriting was elegant and a bit hard to read if truth be told, it was so extravagant. The letter read the following:

_Dear Haruhi Fujioka, _

_You are cordially invited to indulge in the Ouran Academy's High School Host Club! We will be entertaining in the Third Music Room on the first day of the new term. We all hope to see you there! _

_Sincerely, _

_Tamaki Suoh _

_Kyoya Ootori_

_Hikaru Hitachiin_

_Kaoru Hitachiin_

_Takeshi "Mori" Morinozuka _

_Mitsukuni "Honey" Haninozuka _

Haruhi lowered the letter, slightly shocked, but an even bigger shock awaited her. Ranka had picked up the discarded envelope and was now pursing his lips at his daughter.

"Ouran Academy? Why are you getting mail from Ouran Academy?"

A number of lies went through Haruhi's mind at that moment, each one an attempt at keeping her father from making a scene. _Well I did apply there last fall Dad, they're just checking up _and _It wasn't meant for us, I shouldn't have read it, _were just a few. However knowing Ranka as she did, Haruhi decided to go with the truth.

"It's just from some friends," she replied and tried to edge her way out of the kitchen.

"Did you meet them at Ailebol's? I told you high class people go there, Haruhi!" Ranka was brimming with excitement. "What did the letter say?"

"They invited me to come hang out with them at Ouran after school one day," she mumbled, waiting for the explosion. Haruhi had already made up her mind to go, not because she was interested in the Host Club aspect of what the boys did, but because she wanted to see them again. She knew her father would take it way too seriously.

"_Oh my_! We have to find you something to wear, Haruhi! You know the boys at Ouran Academy are just gorgeous right? You might not have anything suitable in your closet… Do we have time to go shopping this Sunday?"

Haruhi let him go. It was all she could do once her father got started. He disappeared into her bedroom and launched a full search of her closest to find an outfit for his daughter. It wasn't long before Haruhi was crawling in Ranka's bed because he still hadn't finished his hunt. She smiled as she settled into her father's familiar scent and decided that the Host Club could be adding an interesting dose of excitement into her life.


	8. Camping With the Host Club

Author's Note: Sorry for my long absence, college is a mighty time sucker. Hmm well, what can I say about this one? I dug it up out of those "stories I never finished" and finally finished it, but it went somewhere I never expected. I haven't really decided what I think about it yet.

Disclaimer: As long as I've been gone, and still I haven't managed to own Ouran High School Host Club. Darn.

**Camping with the Host Club**

Haruhi entered the third music room and right away she could tell some sort of mischief was afoot. It couldn't have been the _tents _set up in the room. Of course not.

"Um, Sempai, why are there two tents in our room?" she asked their blonde lord.

Tamaki strode over to Haruhi and took her hand, pulling her into the room and trying to play the prince for her.

It was Honey that actually answered her question. "These are our birthday presents!" he told her from inside the largest tent. "One tent for me and one tent for Mori. Everyone else is getting their own tents so we can go camping!" The small boy pulled himself out of his tent and started bouncing around excitedly, babbling on about how much fun they were going to have.

Haruhi tuned Honey out and turned to Tamaki. Tamaki bit his lip, as he figured he was about to face Haruhi's wrath.

Instead the poor girl gave a resigned sigh and asked, "When are we leaving?"

"This weekend," the lord replied. "As soon as the rest of the tents get in, actually. We've got them on express order so they should be here tomorrow morning and then we can leave the next morning."

Haruhi had only been camping once or twice in her life. Still, she was sure her version of camping and the Hosts' versions of camping were totally different. To Haruhi, camping was spending a few nights out in the wilderness, sleeping in a tent you could barely fit in, and making fond memories with family members. She could bet there would be no old fashioned campfire on this trip. There probably wouldn't even be a wilderness. Most likely, the backyard of Tamaki's mansion would suffice.

"Where will we be, um, camping?" Haruhi asked.

"At a camping resort a few hours away from the city," Kyoya replied.

That was a good sign. At least they were actually going to be _away_ from the city.

"I'll be picking you up around nine tomorrow morning," Tamaki told Haruhi excitedly.

Haruhi sighed. Her father wouldn't be too happy about that, but Tamaki had the best access to transportation.

* * *

><p>The next morning Haruhi woke up bright and early in order to get ready for the camping trip. She got a shower, packed her bags, and then went into the kitchen to start breakfast. Her father walked in and gave Haruhi a look that she understood perfectly. Ranka had been reluctant, at best, to let her go camping with the Host Club, but he didn't want to upset his daughter. He also didn't want to stop her from doing things with her friends, even if they all happened to be boys. Sometimes he wondered about her school life…<p>

The doorbell rang just as Haruhi finished the last bite of eggs on her plate. Ranka answered the door with Haruhi looking around his shoulder. She immediately saw the smile fade off Tamaki's face. Ranka grinned as Tamaki hid behind one of the twins.

"Oi Haruhi's papa," Hikaru said, saluting Ranka in unison with Kaoru.

"Haru-chan, Haru-chan!" Honey yelled, dodging around Ranka's legs and hugging Haruhi.

"Hey Honey," Haruhi said, smiling as she ruffled his hair. She looked up and saw that Ranka had finally let the rest of the Hosts in.

Hikaru grabbed her bag, while Ranka gave Tamaki a bad time, telling him to "treat his daughter with care and respect." The strange party left Haruhi's kitchen, and Ranka was faced with the empty silence that always fills a previously loud room when the people leave. For some reason he felt that this escapade of Haruhi and those boys was going to be different than usual.

* * *

><p>Haruhi closed her eyes tightly against the noise that filled the limousine she and the Host Club were riding in. The surround-sound radio was blasting some song she didn't know and Honey, Tamaki, Hikaru, and Kaoru were singing along to it. Tamaki paused as the CD changed songs and looked over at Haruhi.<p>

"Hey," Tamaki waved at the rest of the Club, who quieted down at once. Kaoru reached up and turned down the music.

Haruhi pulled herself away from the car door she had been leaning against and looked around at everyone. They were all waiting to see what Tamaki had to say. Unfortunately, he didn't _have _anything to say. Tamaki could not come up with a clever lie to tell the Hosts, as he wasn't going to tell them he stopped all the noise because he couldn't stand to see Haruhi in pain.

Thankfully, Kyoya saved Tamaki. "We'll be at the camping ground in about ten minutes," he told them all.

Haruhi sighed with relief. As much as she had come to love the Hosts, she could not stand the noise they made. Not that the whole drive had been terrible. Someone had brought a deck of cards and they had played games on a fold-out table built into the side of the limo. They had also watched a very amusing show on the flat-screen TV. It was just in the last half hour they'd run out of things to do, and Hikaru had suggested music.

The throbbing bass had gotten to Haruhi after the first few songs. She just couldn't stand loud music in any shape or form, especially when it was practically asking her to get a headache. Haruhi looked over to Tamaki and gave him a small smile of thanks, which the Host Lord received with a light blush. This change was not lost on Haruhi; in fact she had almost looked for it. She had realized, after some deliberation, that Tamaki liked her, and not just in the father-daughter way he had been pretending. She had decided that the whole thing was actually a ruse to keep the other Hosts from finding out.

The only thing Haruhi _hadn't_ decided on the matter was how she felt towards Tamaki. Sure, she enjoyed his company and he was probably her closest friend. And Haruhi supposed if the circumstances had been normal, it would be easy for her to like Tamaki back. Yet the circumstances were not normal. Haruhi was pretending to be a boy, her father held animosity towards Tamaki, Hikaru had shown definite interest in her, and the Host Club could _hardly_ afford more drama. Haruhi was tempted to bang her head on the side of the car as these thoughts came flooding back to her with the sight of Tamaki's blush. That, however, would neither improve her situation nor her headache so she refrained.

"We're here!" Honey exclaimed as the shiny black limo pulled into a gravel parking lot. Everyone piled out of the car to get a look at the place they'd be spending their weekend.

Haruhi had to admit it wasn't a bad spot. The trees were tall, shady, and beautiful while the grass was springy and damp underfoot. She could see a lake off in the distance and what looked like several hiking paths stretching off in various directions from a small building about fifty feet in front of them.

"Haruhi, what is that building for?" Tamaki asked.

"I think it's a bathroom, or otherwise a station where we can get maps, instructions, and maybe some supplies. We should go find out."

So the Host Club marched off towards the building, which turned out to be both a bathroom and a ranger station. They got maps which labeled the hiking trails, a well, the lake, fishing spots, places to avoid, even places to find edible berries. So Kyoya had, naturally, picked a first class camping ground. Haruhi didn't care that, once again, the boys were flaunting their wealth. The maps were a plus as she had no desire to venture into the woods with the Hosts and end up lost. She was excited for some of the activities too. Haruhi wanted to visit the lake and perhaps pick some berries, and hiking wouldn't be bad either.

"Haruhi!" Tamaki stared over her shoulder as she looked a map. The startled girl gave a small jump at her Lord's closeness. "There'll be time for map reading in the tents. Right now we need to find a good place to set up."

Haruhi blinked. "How are we going to move all of our stuff? The limo can't go into the grass."

"That, my daughter, is where the rangers come in. They have been kind enough to lend us a few vehicles to move our belongings." Tamaki indicated some four-wheelers with trailers hooked to the backs.

Haruhi gave a small groan. This did not bode well. Teenaged boys plus off-roading vehicles equals _chaos_.

* * *

><p>However, twenty minutes later their stuff had been safely moved to a clearing and Haruhi was sitting with Mori on a four-wheeler laughing in delight. He had taken up the duty of bringing the four-wheelers back to the rangers and Haruhi decided to keep him company. They were in the process of bringing back the second and last one they had borrowed. Mori parked it next to the station while Haruhi waited, staring up at the sky through the branches. When he returned they started walking back to their campsite. They spoke little, but then, Mori wasn't a very vocal person. Haruhi enjoyed being with him because she didn't feel like she had to fill the silence with conversation.<p>

"You guys still haven't made any progress with the tents?" she asked when she arrived back with Mori. Sure the tents were big, but the instructions were sure to be detailed enough.

"Mom wouldn't help us," Hikaru complained, pointing to Kyoya who was sitting on a tree stump watching the others suffer. Well, only Hikaru and Kaoru were making an effort. Tamaki was off in his own little world and Honey was chasing butterflies. With Haruhi and Mori's help, the twins managed to get their tent as well as her and Honey's erected satisfactorily. Eventually the others got the idea and started with their own tents. They made a "U" shape with the tents and built a fire pit in the middle of the "U." Haruhi showed the boys how to roast hotdogs on a stick after they got a small fire going.

"Haruhi, isn't this a little… unsanitary?" Tamaki asked, scrutinizing the stick he had picked up.

Haruhi smiled slightly at his behavior. Tamaki wasn't usually a germ-a-phobe, but then, he didn't usually have to worry about it. All his fancy food was sure to be uncontaminated.

"It's fine Tamaki-sempai, the heat from the fire will kill any germs that might be on the stick," she explained to him.

"Ok," he nodded, taking a hotdog out of the package and spearing it with his stick.

Tamaki was like a child sometimes, Haruhi mused. He believed her no matter what she said the way a little boy believes his mom. Yet, he was definitely a teenaged boy in most ways. Tamaki had a way with women that no one could deny; it couldn't even be ignored. Without Tamaki, the Host Club probably wouldn't have succeeded. Girls gravitated towards him and he knew what to say and do to make them keep coming back. This was partly due to his rich upbringing—Tamaki was as close to a chivalrous prince as he could be without looking ridiculous: the ridiculousness was just part of his personality. Yet, there was something else, something Haruhi couldn't define, something that drew her to him as well. And she knew all his tricks!

"Ah! Haruhi!" Tamaki's shout jerked her out of her trance.

"What happened?" she asked, prepared for more of his drama. She walked over to the fire where Tamaki was beckoning her furiously.

"I finished the hotdog," he said proudly, showing it to her. Yep, definitely like a little kid. "Taste it!" he pulled the hotdog off the stick and offered it to her.

Haruhi smiled. "Sempai you made it for yourself, I don't want to eat it."

"I insist," he replied, leveling Haruhi with one of his looks that made her unable to resist him.

She held out her hand for the hotdog, but Tamaki shook his head. Instead he held it to her mouth and waited for her to take a bite. This felt uncomfortably like something from a cheesy romance movie, but Haruhi knew the sooner she complied, the sooner he would leave her alone. She took a bite out of the hotdog and chewed it slowly.

"That was really good Tamaki," Haruhi said, sounding slightly surprised.

Tamaki smiled in pleasure at being complimented by her and put the hotdog in her still open hand. Then he walked off to talk to Kaoru. Tamaki's odd behavior made Haruhi feel bemused, but she decided not to dwell on it. She sat down on the grass beside the fire and ate the hotdog Tamaki had cooked. Gazing into the fire, she saw a few smoldering hotdogs within it. Laughing quietly to herself, she realized Tamaki had tried really hard to make something nice for her. It was sweet, she had to admit.

Haruhi was only granted a few moments of peace, however, because Honey came over to her and started tugging on her arm.

"C'mon Haru-chan, let's go for a hike!" he begged.

Tamaki appeared out of nowhere, as he tended to do, and took Haruhi's other arm. "Yes!" he exclaimed, "a hike sounds like a wonderful idea." The two boys pulled Haruhi up and Honey ran off to gather up the rest of the Hosts. That left Haruhi alone with Tamaki once again. In Haruhi's opinion, this had been happening more than was healthy for her.

"Sempai," she said quietly. "Thank you for the hotdog. But you know, you could have told me that you were having problems cooking it."

"Oh, you saw that did you?" Tamaki asked, looking a bit sheepish. He shrugged. "I didn't really want to disturb you. I knew I could do it on my own, and besides, we've all been bothering you enough since we got here. This whole experience is new for us and we want you to teach us how to do it properly."

Haruhi was surprised by how normal Tamaki sounded. It was strange to hear him talk like this. Usually his speech was overdramatic, pointless, or both. Haruhi felt as though they were crossing some sort of line with this conversation. Tamaki was showing her another side of himself. Yet, she didn't want to appear shocked so she replied, "There is no 'proper' way to do things like camping, Sempai. The point is to have fun."

Tamaki smiled and nodded, glancing up to see that Honey was returning with the twins, Mori, and Kyoya in tow. He looked back down at Haruhi and asked, very seriously, "Are you having fun?"

She was about to answer when the rest of the Hosts joined them and made replying impossible. Haruhi felt like there was a hidden challenge in Tamaki's question. He must have realized at some point that Haruhi was almost like a babysitter to him and the rest of the Club. He seemed to think that she didn't have fun on their escapades because it was like taking care of a bunch of hyper little kids. Now Haruhi was determined to show Tamaki that she _did _have fun and she really appreciated the trips they went on together. The trips were some of the best memories of her life.

* * *

><p>Their hike was, in a word, eventful. The Host Club tramped nosily through the trees, exclaiming over this and that in loud voices. Hikaru pushed Kaoru into the lake, and Kaoru proceeded to pull his twin in with him. After that a hilarious water fight ensued. Honey and Mori joined the twins' fight while Tamaki just started splashing everyone. Haruhi remained on the shore with Kyoya for awhile, but eventually she decided to join in. It had a little bit to do with the fact that Tamaki and Hikaru kept splashing her from her spot on the shore, but really it just looked like too much fun to pass up.<p>

After they had thoroughly drenched themselves, the Hosts laid out in the sun for awhile to dry off. It wasn't too long, however, before they picked up the trail again. Mori stopped to let Honey jump up into a tree and soon everyone was behaving like monkeys. Haruhi found a nice tree and decided to try and climb it. Unfortunately, she was a bit on the short side and couldn't reach even the lowest branches. She took a running jump, missed, and promptly tripped over a tree root. However, she laughed and tried to get up into the tree again. After failing several times, she admitted defeat, and collapsed at the base of the tree, exhausted.

She heard leaves rustling above her and looked up. Tamaki had seated himself on the very branch she had just been trying to grab.

"This is a nice tree," he remarked casually. "In fact, this whole forest is nice. I wonder if I'd be able to plant a forest in my backyard."

Haruhi laughed. "I dunno Sempai, it depends on how long you're willing to wait for it to grow. It probably wouldn't be a forest until you were a grandfather."

Tamaki shrugged, unperturbed by her comment. He stood up and held his hand out to her wordlessly. Haruhi blinked up at him before finally deciding to take his hand. Tamaki pulled her up into the tree she had struggled so hard to get into herself. She took a deep breath after she had steadied herself and then sat down on the branch with her legs hanging off either side of it and her back resting against the trunk.

"Maybe you could just get _this_ tree and have it replanted in your yard," Haruhi mused, staring up into the canopy of green leaves above them. She sensed Tamaki sitting down in front of her, and together they contemplated the leaves, the sky beyond them, and the birds they could hear singing nearby.

Haruhi started to doze off up in the tree. She didn't hear when Mori approached and spoke to Tamaki. "It's getting dark," he informed the blonde.

The Host Lord nodded. "Then we should be heading to camp soon."

"Need help?" Mori indicated Haruhi.

"No, I know just the thing to wake her up," Tamaki replied mischievously.

Mori gave Tamaki a look that clearly told him not to hurt Haruhi. The nearly silent Host member had come to regard Haruhi as a little sister and had a definite soft spot for her. He protected her the same way he protected Honey. Mori left to go collect said cake-loving boy and the other Hosts, while Tamaki took care of Haruhi. The blonde prince knelt down in front of Haruhi and looked at her for a moment. She slowly became more and more aware of her surroundings as he watched.

Haruhi opened her eyes with a gasp, almost certain she had felt something warm and soft brush her lips. Yet all she saw was Tamaki peering at her in a strange way. She flushed at her sudden outburst and at the realization that she had fallen asleep in the tree with Tamaki.

"Come, my love, we need to start heading back to camp. It's getting dark," he said quietly.

"What did you just say?" Haruhi asked wondering if her groggy brain had heard correctly.

"The sun is setting and we can't be caught in the forest when it gets dark…" Tamaki replied, thinking she hadn't understood the first time.

"No, I mean what did you call me?"

"My daughter?"

Haruhi shook her head, knowing she had heard something else.

Honey fell asleep sitting on Mori's shoulders on the way back to camp. Everyone agreed upon arriving at the tents that sleeping was a good idea, even though it was barely eight o'clock. They changed into their pajamas and gathered around the dying fire to say good night.

"Did you put Honey in his tent?" Kyoya asked Mori. Mori nodded and bade everyone good night with a wave of his hand. The twins were the next to go. They yawned in unison and mumbled something like "sweet dreams," before heading to their shared double size tent.

"It got dark really early tonight," Haruhi noted, looking up at the sky. There was a small opening in the canopy of trees above them where stars were visible, but clouds kept passing over it. Haruhi shivered slightly in her silken nightgown, a strange feeling a dread slipping down her back. Disregarding it, she smiled to Tamaki and Kyoya, before heading into her tent for the night.

* * *

><p>The first clap of thunder made Haruhi jerk awake instantly. She could hear the rain pouring down around her, but she was safe and dry inside her tent. Unfortunately she didn't feel that way. Haruhi felt exposed and vulnerable, much more so than she had ever felt during a thunderstorm before. The canvas of her tent didn't even muffle the sound of the thunder or dim the flash of the lightning. She covered her head with her blankets and pillows but they did not offer her the comfort they used to. And Haruhi knew why.<p>

Ever since she had come to Ouran she had been surrounded by the Host Club. The first time there had ever been a thunderstorm while she was at school, Tamaki had been there to comfort her. The second time she had gotten caught out in a storm and hidden in a church. Hikaru found her there and let her listen to his music so she couldn't hear the thunder. The boys had been taking care of her even in the situation she never let anyone calm her. Somehow they had gotten around her barriers. Now, she needed someone, someone to tell her it would be ok and talk her fears away.

When Haruhi finally admitted this to herself, it was easy for her to decide who she wanted to go to. She pulled herself out of the tangle of blankets and, with a shaking hand, unzipped the tent door. She flung herself into the storm and hurried to his tent. To be honest, it wasn't a horrible storm. It wasn't raining very hard, and the trees blocked a lot of the moisture that was coming down. In the end, that didn't really matter. Thunder was thunder no matter whether it was raining or not.

Haruhi struggled with the zipper to his tent for awhile, soaking her thin nightdress in the process. When she finally got the door open, she dove into the tent, tears mingling with the rain that was dripping off her face.

"Haruhi!" Tamaki cried, jolting awake when she fell into his lap. He hastened to close the door so they wouldn't get even wetter. After he wrestled the zipper closed, Tamaki turned to Haruhi who had gathered herself into a ball in the corner of his tent. She was shaking with cold and fear. Tamaki grabbed a blanket from where he had been sleeping and crawled over to where Haruhi was sitting. He wrapped the blanket around her and himself. Haruhi's shivers scared him almost as much as the storm was scaring her.

It didn't take long for Haruhi to calm down surrounded by the blanket and Tamaki's warmth. Uncurling herself from the ball she had been in, Haruhi rested her head on Tamaki's chest. He put his arm around her and started humming a piano tune he had played for her once in the Third Music Room. Thunder clapped again, and Tamaki felt Haruhi tense but she didn't get upset like she had been before.

"Thank you Sempai," she muttered, burying her head into his chest.

Tamaki smiled and wrapped both arms around her. "You can always come to me, Haruhi," he whispered. He felt her nod into his chest. She was relaxed now, Tamaki could tell. He lifted her up into his arms and moved her into the middle of the tent.

"No," Haruhi mumbled in protest, reaching out for him again. "It's cold."

"I know," Tamaki replied soothingly. "Lay down and I'll fix it." He covered her with his sleeping bag and another dry blanket. Then he slipped under the covers with her. Almost immediately she put her arms around him, pressing her body into his. Tamaki knew that Haruhi was cold and afraid and that her actions probably didn't mean anything, but he couldn't help the warm feeling that was growing in his stomach. He pulled her closer and rested his head on top of her's.

"Tamaki…" Haruhi whispered. "Did you… you kissed me up in that tree, didn't you?"

"Perhaps," Tamaki replied. If Haruhi was well enough to ask questions, he figured she could handle a little of his mind games.

"I _know _I felt something," she insisted, pulling away so she could look up at him. "And you've been acting strange this whole trip."

"How?"

Haruhi hadn't expected Tamaki to question her. She had expected him to agree with her and tell her why he'd been acting so odd. She floundered for a moment before she finally decided on something to say. "You haven't been playing the father-daughter card very much. And you made that hotdog for me, and being with you in the tree felt… I dunno different. From how I usually feel around you, I mean."

"Was it a bad feeling?" he asked, sounding genuinely anxious for her answer.

Haruhi shook her head. "Not bad just… different," she replied for lack of a better word.

Tamaki smiled to himself. "And you say you're sure I kissed you?"

Blushing, Haruhi hesitated before answering. "No, I just know something touched my lips." Her heart was pounding, but she didn't really understand why. Suddenly the closeness between her and Tamaki felt more intimate than required for warmth.

"Did it feel like this?" he asked, tracing her lips with his finger. Tamaki felt her shudder, but this time it was in a good way. He saw her shake her head quickly. "Or maybe this?" he continued, pressing the length of his middle and index fingers gently against her lips. Haruhi had closed her eyes and Tamaki could tell that she was impatient for what was going to happen next. Still, she didn't say anything; she just shook her head once more. "Ah, I see, it was like this." And finally Tamaki kissed her with just a soft touch of his lips against her's.

"Yeah," Haruhi agreed, slightly breathless. "It was like that."

"Then I must admit I'm guilty as charged," he told her cheerfully, not sounding flustered at all. "I _did_ kiss you. But now that I think about it, it should have been more like this," Tamaki put his hand on the back of Haruhi's head and pulled her lips to meet his. This time, he didn't pull away after a second. Their lips pressed against each other completely, and Haruhi felt how truly warm and soft Tamaki's lips were. Her taste before in the tree was nothing compared to how it felt now.

This time she was fully conscious and could feel the sparks flying between her and Tamaki. She could not believe she hadn't woken up when he kissed her the first time. This was unbelievable. It felt like every part of her body was hypersensitive—extra aware of all the places she and Tamaki were touching. It took Haruhi a long time to process all this because Tamaki was still kissing her. Every time he made the slightest movement her concentration would evaporate and she'd be focusing again on her lips. Now she realized that every part of her was tingling, yet the highest intensity was in her lips.

Haruhi wasn't sure what to do. This was, of course, her first _real_ kiss. She thought she should be doing _something _but it felt wonderful to let Tamaki control things. The only thing she could do, she reasoned, was mess it up. To her dismay, however, Tamaki had started to pull away.

"Was that wrong?" he asked quietly. Tamaki himself had been feeling amazing, but Haruhi had not been responding. It was the first time he'd felt insecure since he kissed Haruhi in the tree. This was his first kiss too, but he had seen plenty of people kissing on the streets and in movies. Both people always looked so engaged in their activities, but Tamaki didn't feel like he was having that effect on Haruhi.

"Wrong, Tamaki?" Haruhi sounded confused. "I don't think there's a wrong way to do that," she blushed, but plodded on. "Besides, if anyone was wrong it was me. I have no idea how to do this. I was afraid I would mess it up if I did anything. All I can tell you is that it felt… right."

Tamaki cupped her cheek and smiled. "Don't be afraid to try, Haruhi. Nothing you could do would ever make me go away." He stroked her cheek with his thumb. "Think of how much better it will feel if you kiss me back."

They both laughed and snuggled into the warmth of the blankets and each other. Haruhi yawned and rolled over so her back was facing Tamaki. He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her closer to him so that her back was flush with his front. This made her blush once more, but the thought of reproaching Tamaki didn't occur to her. Haruhi was simply too comfortable and too tired. She sighed contentedly, not even noticing the storm still brewing outside the tent.

"I suppose we'll have to conduct that experiment tomorrow," Tamaki chuckled.

"What experiment?" Haruhi asked, sleep making her slow.

"Why, you kissing me back of course," the Host lord replied, smiling into her hair. "But don't you worry about that now. Sleep, my love."

"That's what… you called me… in the tree…" Haruhi realized as she drifted off to meet her dreams.

Whatever dreams they were, they were good Tamaki decided. He watched Haruhi's face for at least an hour after she dropped off to sleep and she smiled the whole time he was watching. Tamaki would have gone all night staring at her face, but soon he began to doze off. Eventually he decided it was pointless to fight the fatigue and, telling himself Haruhi would be there in the morning, he surrendered to sleep.

* * *

><p>Tamaki awoke, much earlier than he would have liked, to the sounds of his fellow Hosts trying to make breakfast. From the sound of things, they couldn't get a fire started and were contemplating waking up Haruhi to help them. At the mention of the girl's name, the memories of last night flooded back to Tamaki. To his amazement and great relief, she was still there, sleeping in his arms. However this posed a problem: if the other boys went to check for Haruhi in her tent, she would not be there. They would not think of logical reasons for her absence, they would panic. Soon, someone would be sent to fetch Tamaki and then whoever it was would find their Lord and the missing girl in a very compromising position.<p>

Yet the Host Lord could not think of a solution to the problem. Haruhi was amazingly—and surprisingly—clingy in her sleep, and she had managed to wrap her arms and legs around some part of his body. He wouldn't be able to get up without her noticing. He refused to wake Haruhi up, so leaving the tent himself was not an option. Therefore he decided to wait and see what his friends would do.

"Hey! Guys I got it lit!" yelled one of the twins, most likely Hikaru.

Tamaki sighed with relief and calculated he had about an hour to solve the problem before him. It was better than nothing. Perhaps Haruhi would wake up on her own, even. In the meantime, Tamaki decided to just enjoy the moment.

Haruhi disentangled her legs from his and stretched out, making quiet sounds like a kitten. Tamaki's first instinct was to gather her up in his arms and coddle her for being so adorable, but he remembered she was still sleeping. Slowly but surely, her right arm unwrapped from his chest and her left from his own arm, and Tamaki was able to scoot away from Haruhi without waking her. He dressed quickly in a corner of the tent and went to greet his friends.

"Good morning! Oh, is that breakfast?" he said as normally as possible.

"Sort of," Kyoya replied.

"Hey!" the twins protested. "If you'd have let us wake Haruhi up it would have been better."

At the mention of Haruhi's name, Tamaki felt his back go stiff.

"Well, there was a storm last night, so Haru-chan probably didn't get much sleep," Honey said. "Kyo-chan is right, we should let her sleep in."

"So what are we gonna do all morning while she sleeps?" Hikaru asked sulkily. "I don't want to sit around doing nothing."

"You don't have to," Kyoya replied before Tamaki could open his mouth. "I'll stay here so she doesn't panic when she wakes up, and the rest of you can go pick some berries for her as a surprise."

"Yay! Berries!" Honey cried.

The rest of the Club members finished up their breakfast in excitement, while Tamaki could hardly eat for his dread. As the boys were getting ready to leave, he approached Kyoya.

"Kyoya! If you'd like to go pick berries with everyone else, I'd be happy to stay with Haruhi for you," he said in an overly cheerful voice.

Kyoya gave his best friend a suspicious look. "No, that's ok. I wanted to stay behind, that's why I offered. I need to stay caught up with Host Club duties."

"There's not even internet in the middle of the words!" Tamaki was starting to get desperate.

"I don't need internet to do everything." Kyoya deadpanned. Something was definitely up.

"Come on Boss," the twins interrupted, grabbing the back of Tamaki's collar and effectively ending the conversation.

Minutes after the party left, Haruhi stumbled out of Tamaki's tent, still drunk with sleep.

"Well, that's interesting."

Haruhi assumed a clumsy defensive stance at the sound of Kyoya's unexpected voice, but her arms were far too flimsy to actually protect her.

"Relax, it's just me," Kyoya smirked in amusement.

"That's what I'm afraid of," Haruhi mumbled to herself, though she did put her guard down. At the sound of Kyoya's voice, everything that had happened the previous night had come flooding back to her—including the fact that she had not stayed in her own tent and probably should not have staggered out of it like a drunk person.

"I wondered why he was acting oddly," Kyoya continued as though Haruhi had not spoken, "Tamaki seemed intent on not leaving me here with you."

Haruhi shrugged. "I went to him during the storm last night," she tried to play it off like it was nothing.

"Honestly Haruhi, do you think I haven't noticed?"

She sighed. "Good point." She sat down next to Kyoya on one of the logs they had pulled over by the fire. "What should I do, Kyoya-sempia?"

"About what?" He resumed writing in his customary black notebook, but Haruhi had learned that just because Kyoya was multitasking didn't mean he wasn't paying attention. He knew everything that went on in the Host Club.

"About me… and Tamaki… and Hikaru too." The petite girl placed her elbows on her knees and put her forehead in her hands.

"Don't worry about Hikaru. He'll get over it," Kyoya replied matter-of-factly. "That may sound harsh to you, but you can't make everyone happy, Haruhi. Make yourself happy this time. And all you have to do with Tamaki is be yourself. That's what he fell for, after all." The dark haired boy looked up from his papers and gave her a small smile.

"Yeah…" Haruhi said slowly, smiling back. "Thanks Kyoya."

She went into her tent to change into clothes for the day, happy that her dad hadn't decided to raid her bag this time. It would have been rather difficult to hike in a dress and sandals. Just as she was finishing, she heard the rest of the Host Club returning and hurried back outside to greet them.

"Haru-chan," Honey called. "We brought you a surprise!"

"What is it?" she asked, joining them.

"Berries!" the twins replied, presenting her with two baskets full of them.

Tamaki breathed a sigh of relief when he looked around the twins to see Haruhi dressed in her usual boyish garb. He would probably be having a talk with Kyoya in the near future, but that was all well and good. As long as details of their relationship weren't laid out for the whole Club to see before they themselves even knew what the details were.

"That's great you guys! I can't believe you did this for me while I slept like a lazy bum."

"We heard the storm last night," Mori said simply.

Haruhi blushed. They had let her sleep in because they were afraid the storm had kept her up. The reality was very different. "R-right… well, let's not let these go to waste!" she said awkwardly.

Thankfully none of the boys, except perhaps Kyoya, noticed her discomfort as they all started grabbing handfuls of berries.

"You made sure to only pick the ones that were on the map right?" Kyoya asked.

"Of course," the twins replied together.

"What kind of idiot would pick bad berries," Hikaru continued.

"When we had a labeled map?" Kaoru finished.

From across the fire pit, they heard Honey say, "My tummy hurts, Takashi."

This was quickly followed by Haruhi crying, "Sempai! Those are poisonous don't eat them!" and taking the very same berries away from Tamaki that Honey had just eaten.

"That kind of idiot," the twins deadpanned.

Hikaru, Kaoru, and Kyoya turned back to where Honey was sitting to see that he had turned a very nasty green color.

"Mitsukuni…" Mori had his hand on Honey's back as his best friend threw up violently.

"Haruhi! Honey ate the poisonous berries," Kaoru yelled.

Everyone rushed over to the smallest member of the Host Club. Kyoya had his cell phone out and was checking to see if he had service.

"Mori-sempai. My father's medical staff are on speed dial, but I can't get service here. Can you run out of the woods to find it?"

Mori looked like the last thing he wanted to do was leave Honey. Yet, he took the phone from Kyoya and ran off in the direction of the ranger's station they had been to the day before. Haruhi was given the task of taking care of Honey until the doctors arrived. Meanwhile the rest of the boys began taking down their campsite. They were much more efficient at taking it down than putting it up.

Haruhi wasn't really sure what she could to do help Honey. He remained a sickly, pale, greenish color and threw up again while the other boys were working.

"Would you like some water, Honey-sempai?" she asked.

He shook his head, a hand clamped over his mouth as though he thought it would keep him from being sick once more. Just as Haruhi was beginning to pace from feeling helpless, the doctors arrived in much the same fashion at Kyoya's family police often did.

They set up a miniature hospital in the middle of the woods in what seemed like seconds. Honey was lifted up on to a bed and all kinds of machines were hooked up to him.

"Is… is this all really necessary?" Haruhi asked weakly. "He just ate some bad berries." All the beeping machines and doctors made her feel like Honey was going to die. Suddenly, Haruhi was not surrounded by trees and the Host Club, but by the stark white walls of a hospital room and her family, small as it was. It wasn't Honey hooked up to the machines, it was her mother. She was a little girl again, confused and scared and loosing one of the most important people in her life.

* * *

><p>When she came to, Haruhi really was in a hospital room and she herself was the one lying in the bed. However, there were no machines attached to her. She became aware that someone was holding her hand, though it was not who she expected.<p>

"How are you feeling, Haru-chan?"

"I should be asking you that question, Honey-sempai," she replied with a smile. Honey was lying in the bed next to her, maybe a little paler than usual, but completely alive.

"Everyone told me that you passed out after the doctors got there. I'm sorry I scared you like that," he said.

"You don't have to apologize to me! I'm just glad you're feeling better."

A nurse came in to check on them then and said, "If you're both feeling up to it, there's a rather large, loud group of people waiting to see you."

Haruhi and Honey laughed and told her to send the rest of the Host Club in.

Mori was immediately at Honey's side. His concern washed over both him and Haruhi without even having to speak. Then the twins entered. They couldn't decide which bed to stand by so they kept hopping from one to the other, asking about a million times if they were ok. Kyoya was quiet too but he took in everything with relief evident on his face. Everything was back to normal. Finally there was Tamaki. Somehow, he was more subdued than usual. He didn't prance into the room like a hyper child and, in his good intentions, actually stress them all out. Haruhi saw him go over and talk to Honey for awhile and then, he came to her.

"I'm fine," she said before he could ask.

"What happened?"

No one else had asked that. None of the other boys had wondered why she had suddenly passed out like one of their dramatic guests. If Haruhi Fujioka was anything, it was not dramatic or weak or silly like most of the girls at Ouran Academy.

She fiddled with the blanket, avoiding his gaze. "It reminded me… of… of the last day I saw Mom," Haruhi forced out.

Tamaki's arms were around her before the single tear she let escape could fall from her cheek. She leaned into his embrace for a moment and unexpectedly remembered how his lips had felt the night before. No one appeared to have noticed this out of character display, as everyone else was gathered around Honey, who was, after all, the one who was really sick.

"After they realized you had already thrown up most of the berries, they packed us all into cars and drove us here to the hospital," Hikaru was explaining to Honey how they had come to be at the real hospital.

"They told us if you hadn't eaten so many of them, you probably wouldn't have even gotten sick," Kaoru added. "Those berries are apparently only poisonous in large quantities."

"That's good!" Honey said cheerfully, smiling at all his friends around him.

Haruhi smiled too. She knew that Honey would have no lasting damage from the camping trip. In fact, he seemed ready to be back on his feet right now. As for her, she still had no idea where her and Tamaki's relationship was going, but it still felt good to be taking it in another direction.

* * *

><p>Author's Note: I know this is supposed to be a HaruhiHikaru fanfic so I apologize for posting another Tamaki/Haruhi, even though technically the last story it was just implied ;) I am working on more Haruhi/Hikaru stuff, but I'm kinda of stuck, especially on the one I was planning on posting next. So just be patient with me for a little while longer and I promise I will get some more H/H stuff up!


	9. Lost In You

Author's Note: So this is the story I told you all about: the doozy I've been struggling with. It has a lot of parts to it so I'm going to do a bit of explaining before it starts.

First, the **present** is written in the **present tense** and _flashbacks_ are written in the _past tense_.

The lines denote changing from past to present or changes in POV. I think the POV changes are pretty obvious, but let me know if I should label them.

Finally, the song is split into Hikaru and Haruhi's parts. Hikaru's parts are **bold** and Haruhi's are_ italic_.

Disclaimer: I don't own Ouran High School Host Club or the song "Lost in You" by Three Days Grace.

**Lost In You**

I feel terrible for the way I left things. I think everyone wanted to beat me black and blue for the poison in the form of words that came out of my mouth that day. Kaoru actually _did _when we got home after the party. The only reason I escaped the rest of their wrath was because they didn't want Haruhi to see it. I deserved it, I realize now.

* * *

><p>It had reached the end of Kaoru, Haruhi, and my first year at Ouran Academy. We were hosting a going away party for Mori and Honey as they were graduating in a few days time. Many of the people we had met throughout the year had been invited including Renge, Kasanado, Kanako, Shiro, Nekozawa, Kirimi, and Arai.<p>

Considering this, I was already in a bad mood, so speaking probably wasn't the most intelligent move on my part. "I honestly can't believe you, Haruhi," I said over her conversation with her old classmate.

Haruhi looked resignedly up at me, as though she had known I was going to pick a fight with Arai, and asked, "What is it, Hikaru?"

"Why have you been spending all this time with _him _when you should be spending it with _me_? I mean I _am _your boyfriend after all," I declared loudly enough for half the room to hear me.

Until that moment our relationship had been unspoken. Many of the people present at the party still believed Haruhi was a boy, something we had planned to change before they all left. Gasps rang out around the room, as did a fangirl squeal from Renge.

Haruhi glared up at me through dark eyes. "Hikaru, it wasn't your place to announce that in front of everyone."

"Why not?"

"Because you have to respect the person in the relationship with you and wait until you both decide the time is right!" Haruhi cried.

"Respect? What do you know about respect, Haruhi? I see you all the time hanging on other guys. Tamaki, Arai, even Kaoru, my own brother! You think I don't _notice_? You think I don't _care_?" I laughed humorlessly. "You're just dying for attention from all the rich boys you never knew in middle school. Are you hoping to get something out of it since your is debt gone? Is it not enough that Tamaki's family is basically paying for you to go to school here and that we give you clothes, contacts, food, and trips? You don't deserve any of it either. You're just a commoner." I was panting with the heatedness of my anger-fueled rant, and I couldn't even see Haruhi anymore, just a blurry face.

She didn't make a sound. She didn't even move for awhile, I think she was in such shock. Finally she ran out of the Third Music Room and left me there at the mercy of all of our extremely pissed off friends and clients.

* * *

><p>That was five years ago. I didn't see Haruhi much at Ouran after that except in passing. After Mori and Honey left, Tamaki ended the Host Club, but we all kept in contact with each other. All except Haruhi and I. She, I guess, because she didn't want to hear from me. Me because I'm still too ashamed of myself to reach out to her.<p>

It is therefore with surprise that one snowy day I find my cell phone ringing, displaying a number that I recognize but have long deleted the name from my contact list.

"Haruhi?" I answer hopefully, not daring to believe it.

**I always knew that you'd come back to get me**  
><strong>And you always knew that it wouldn't be easy<strong>  
><strong>To go back to the start to see where it all began<strong>  
><strong>Or end up at the bottom to watch how it all ends<strong>

"Hikaru…" her voice is quiet, relieved. "Lucky your number hasn't changed."

* * *

><p>My heart is pounding as I dial those seven digits into my phone. I'd always known sooner or later I'd be making this call. It ended up being more towards the later owing to my stupid pride streak. I hold my breath as the phone rings, halfway hoping he won't answer it because he doesn't know the number. Wishful thinking Haruhi, wishful thinking. Just as his phone number is burned into my mind forever, mine is fixed into his.<p>

"Haruhi?" comes his careful answer.

"Hikaru…" I respond, remembering to breathe again. "Lucky your number hasn't changed."

"Right…" he seems uncertain how to proceed. "How have you been?"

I am not prepared for how much I missed the sound of his voice. It takes me a little awhile to answer him. "Fine, fine. Do you want to get coffee?"

Hikaru appears a little shocked at my abruptness. "Now?"

"As soon as you're ready," I reply, knowing he has a knack for preening before going anywhere.

"The usual place?" he adds, and I can hear a smile in his voice.

It is contagious, causing me to grin as well. "Of course."

As I pull on a sweater over my turtleneck, I remember the first time Hikaru and I ever went to "the usual place." It's a little coffee shop not too far from the apartment I lived in with my father. It had taken much cajoling to get him to agree to go with me.

_You tried to lie and say I was everything  
>I remember when I said "I'm nothing without you."<br>I'm nothing without you_

* * *

><p>"Come on Hikaru, we go to your fancy restaurants all the time. Let me show you one of mine for once," I almost begged.<p>

"Fine, but if it sucks we're playing a penalty game," Hikaru reluctantly agreed.

I smiled slightly at the reminder of our first date, knowing he'd done it on purpose, and grabbed his hand, leading him out of the apartment and down the street. It was a beautiful spring day, the _sakura _trees in full bloom, their petals falling around us like snow.

Hikaru pulled me close to him in an uncharacteristic display of affection and said, "You mean the world to me."

I knew he was lying. Well, maybe lying was a strong word. Hikaru was always one to get tied up in the moment and his emotions, so perhaps in that second I _did _mean the world to him. Still, I knew he would abandon me in a heartbeat for Kaoru. That's how it should be though, I reminded myself as I felt my heart grow heavy.

I told him the first thing that came to my mind, "I'm nothing without you, Hikaru."

We reached the coffee shop then, and I wondered the rest of the day what had prompted me to say such a thing.

* * *

><p>I finish preparing for the cold outside and decide Hikaru will probably be there by the time I manage to walk through the snow and ice. Making sure I have the keys to my apartment, I head out.<p>

The snow that swirls around me attempts to mimic the _sakura _blossoms of the memory I have just conjured up. It is far too cold and windy for me to be fooled, however. I trudge along the path towards my destination, the only thing keeping me going is the fact that Hikaru will be there. And even if he isn't, the optimistic pessimist in my brain pipes up, at least you'll be able to get something warm to drink. I shoo those thoughts away as though shooing away flies and open the door to the coffee shop.

As I look around, there is no sign of the Hitachiin red hair. I had prepared myself for Hikaru to be late, so I pick a table by the heater and order a mug of hot chocolate. One mug later and Hikaru is bursting in the coffee shop doors, flecks of snow in his hair and a frazzled look on his face.

"Haruhi, thank goodness you're still here!" he sighs, dropping into the seat across from me. "I couldn't remember what the name of this place was. My driver spent forever looking for it! Eventually I just told him to go to your dad's place and I walked the rest of the way here."

I let out a soft chuckle at his dramatic entrance. "It's ok, Hikaru. Have a drink." I wave the waitress over and Hikaru asks for some kind of coffee beverage I don't recognize the name of. Seeing him again is mesmerizing and I ask myself again why I waited so long to make that stupid phone call.

I decide to start off slowly, casually, "How's Kaoru?"

"You don't know? Haven't you kept up with him all these years?" Hikaru blurts out.

There it is: that wall. I know deep down it isn't what Hikaru meant to say, it just came out. During the time we Hosted together, I had managed to pull Hikaru and Kaoru out of their shells. It seems the time apart has hardened Hikaru again, not that I blame him. He is right, in some respect, to be angry with me. Of all the Hosts he is the only one I didn't keep in contact with. After everything that had happened at Mori and Honey's going away party, I didn't think he wanted anything to do with me.

_Somehow I found a way to get lost in you  
>Let me inside<br>Let me get close to you  
>Change your mind<br>I'll get lost if you want me to  
>Somehow I found a way to get lost in you<em>

"Hikaru," I begin quietly, "you didn't have to come here. In fact, I'll leave now if you want and never contact you again. I'm starting to think this was a mistake, that I'm just reopening old wounds…" I stand up and move to leave.

"No!" Hikaru cries, and he sounds truly pained. "Don't leave…"

I can't swear to it, but I think on the end of his last sentence there is a strangled "me." It is this uncertain plea that has me back in my seat. "What happened that day?" I ask gently, deciding that it might be easier for us both if we get the day of the party off our minds'.

Hikaru sighs. "You know how childish I can be, how jealous. Arai always made that worse. I wanted to hurt you as much as seeing you around him hurt me. Well, it hurt my ego anyway. I was being stupid and selfish and God Haruhi; you have no idea how happy I am to see you." His hands are stretching out on the table, reaching for mine.

Seeing the truly blissful look in Hikaru's face, it is all I can do not to fall back into his arms. I still have to be realistic, though. He hurt me. I hurt him. Plus I have a life outside of him, and he a life outside of me. Coming back together now just wouldn't make sense.

_You always thought that I left myself open  
>But you didn't know I was already broken<br>I told myself that it wouldn't be so bad  
>But pulling away it took everything I had<em>

I put my hands in my lap and pretend like I don't notice him reaching for me. I know Hikaru will simply believe I am being my usual oblivious self and not be hurt by it. Still, my heart aches denying him like this.

"I'm sorry I didn't speak to you after it all happened," I apologize several years too late. "I was afraid to. Partly because I thought you'd be mad at me again and partly because I just didn't think you wanted to hear it."

"I _don't_ want to hear it, Haruhi," Hikaru interrupts. "I claim full responsibility for what happened that day and for how it ruined our friendship."

I sigh, looking at his earnest face and realize, Hikaru hasn't changed much since we were at Ouran. He still lets his emotions take him where they want, while I'm a much more logical person. I guess that's why we balanced each other out so well. He's looking at me now since I haven't said anything in awhile, and I'm predicting he's going to say something stupid, something that will make me uncomfortable.

"This means so much to me Haruhi, you'll never know. I've missed you…"

"I've missed you too," I agree, but I don't trust myself to say anymore. If I allowed myself to say everything I am thinking, it would just end up hurting Hikaru.

_You tried to lie and say I was everything  
>I remember when I said "I'm nothing without you."<br>I'm nothing without you_

* * *

><p>"This means so much to me Haruhi, you'll never know," I confess after a lengthy silence from the girl across from me. "I've missed you."<p>

"I've missed you too," she says and abruptly falls silent once more.

Why is she restraining herself so much around me? I noticed it almost as soon as we began talking. This hasn't been a conversation with Haruhi, it's been a conversation with a closed off, less-than-Haruhi. I refuse to believe in the years that have passed that the girl I knew lost any of her spark. I want her to be as expressive as she was during the days we Hosted together. In high school, I don't think Haruhi knew how to restrain herself sometimes. She always said what she felt and wasn't afraid to stand up to us regardless of the fact that we were boys, as well as sons of notable families. Her fearlessness is something I have always admired about her: it probably made me fall for her.

**Somehow I found a way to get lost in you  
>Let me inside<br>Let me get close to you  
>Change your mind<br>I'll get lost if you want me to  
>Somehow I found a way to get lost in you, in you<strong>

"Haruhi," I begin slowly, "What happened to you? You've changed since we graduated."

"That happens, Hikaru," she replies, but I can tell she doesn't like that I've noticed how different she has been acting.

"I know, but what, you become a lawyer and suddenly you stop being fun?" I tease.

"No! I'm still fun," she protests. Then she takes a deep breath and sighs. "I'm trying really hard, Hikaru. I don't want something bad to happen between us again. One of us has to be the responsible, controlled one."

Ouch. That hurts. But she is right. Sometimes our relationship felt like a balancing act. She had to be the one who said no sometimes, who remained calm when I was angry, and gave me a well needed dose of reality.

"You make it sound like this is goodbye again," I say sadly. "Did you just call me to patch things up and do away with me?"

"Of course not, Hikaru! I just don't want either of us to get hurt again."

**The pain of it all, the rise and the fall  
>I see it all in you<br>Now everyday I find myself say  
>"I want to get lost in you."<br>I'm nothing without you  
><strong>

I stare at Haruhi for a long time, trying to absorb the words she has just said. Could it be that she didn't feel the same way? That every single day without me didn't torture her the way that every day without her tortured me?

"Haruhi, it has been more painful these past five years without you than anything we said to each other that day at the party. Than anything we said to each other our whole friendship, even," I swallow over the lump in my throat and force myself to continue. "I want to be with you again, Haruhi. I'm not the same without you: I'm _mean_. I don't know how to be better except by being with you."

She looks surprised by the emotion in my voice, but she nods. "Maybe someday we can be together again. For right now, we should work on being friends again," she smiles.

"Friends," I agree. I extend my hand across the table.

Haruhi shakes it a little uncertainly, but she seems to light up at my touch. "Friends," she repeats.

It may not seem like much to you, but having Haruhi in my life again means the world to me.

**Somehow I found a way to get lost in you  
>Let me inside<br>Let me get close to you  
>Change your mind<br>I'll get lost if you want me to  
>Somehow I found a way to get lost in you<br>A way to get lost in you**

* * *

><p>Author's Note: I hope this story didn't have too much going on to be successful because I really like it. Reviewers, please let me know what you thought about all the crazy pastpresent and POV changes. If it's too much I may rewrite it in an easier format.


	10. Marriage

Author's Note: I know this is pretty late, and I apologize for that. I've been kinda busy the past few days and I also haven't been feeling well. Also, there's an **important author's note** at the end so please read it!

As for the story, I'm not sure how much difference it makes but I write from the anime, not the manga. I did a bit of research for this story though to make names match up.

Disclaimer: I don't own Ouran High School Host Club.

**Marriage**

It had been going on for several months now. Hideki Marimoto had been coming to our house about every other week since late June, about the time I was getting back from Karuizawa with the Host Club. I remembered the first night I met him.

"Kyoya, this is Marimoto," Father had told me, giving no further introduction.

"Pleased to meet you Marimoto-san, I am Kyoya Ootori, the youngest of the sons," I greeted him pleasantly, although I was bone-tired from the trip, homework, and Host Club duties. I bowed to him, but he did not bow back. Marimoto simply leveled me with a steel colored gaze, nodded, and followed my father into the parlor.

It was then that I decided I did not like this man. He was tall and slim with ink colored hair and gray eyes that had no warmth to them. I did not know what he was doing here and no one offered the information to me. Usually when my father introduced clients to me, he would tell me what company they were from or why we would be working with them. Therefore I concluded that Hideki Marimoto was not a businessman.

He did not dress like one for instance. Whenever I saw him, he wore plain khaki pants and sweaters. An entrepreneur of any stature would surely wear a suit and tie. He also never spoke to anyone but Father and occasionally Mother when he came into contact with her. I observed him run into my sister, Fuyumi, once and he spared her less than a glance. She might as well have been a piece of furniture. If Marimoto had any hopes of being successful in business, he would have to have communication skills, which he clearly either lacked or did not practice.

I was therefore shocked when I found he was to join us, one cool evening in September, for dinner. The whole family dressed in their best eveningwear while Marimoto arrived, as I expected, in those awful khakis. Our family isn't usually talkative at mealtimes, but this silence was different. There was a tension in the air that centered on Marimoto. I hoped tonight would be the night I discovered the reason he had been coming here.

I didn't. I was sent away shortly after the meal was finished while my brothers and sister visited with Marimoto, Father, and Mother. It wasn't often that my age difference led to such discrepancies, so again I became more suspicious of Marimoto. I secluded myself in my room for the remainder of the night and tried to find any information I could that would lead me to a conclusion to his purpose here. It was all a bunch of garbage. All I learned was that he was the son of an investor.

* * *

><p>The next day was Sunday and I was up fairly early working on homework. Fuyumi found me in my sitting area, the clean laundry from this week's batch still spread across the room.<p>

"Really, Kyo-kun?" she asked, taking in the disarray that was my wardrobe.

"I've been busy," I replied, not looking up. "And if you start on it you'll just make it worse."

Fuyumi already had an armful of my clothing gathered up and was gingerly opening my dresser drawers. I smiled to myself as more clothes wound up on the floor than in the dresser. My sister did not have the makings of a housewife: that was obvious. She did care an awful lot and she was quite brilliant in her own way. Not like my brothers and me. Fuyumi had never fussed about school as much, though she always passed with great marks. No, where Fuyumi was smart was with people. She always knew exactly what would make a person happy.

Fuyumi was stuffing some sweaters into a drawer when she called, "Kyoya?"

"What is it, Fuyumi?"

I could see her shoulders sag as she, presumably, gave up on the clothes. "I'm getting married."

"Congratulations!" I smiled, standing up and hurrying over to her. I was surprised to hear her say those words, but nevertheless happy for her. "Who is your fiancé?"

"Marimoto," she breathed, and I knew why her shoulders had sagged.

"Fuyumi…" I stared at her in disbelief. "You can't marry him! He's… horrible. Those cold gray eyes could never love you, and he won't even talk to anyone except Father!"

"I know Otooto-kun… I know." Fuyumi buried her face in her hands.

It had been years… longer than I could remember since Fuyumi had called me "Otooto-kun." Little brother. I knew that meant she was upset. She didn't want to marry Marimoto anymore than I wanted her to. But then…

"Why did you agree to it?" I asked her quietly, placing a hand on her shoulder. "Father and Mother have waited this long for you to find someone, why should they choose now to change their minds?"

"I don't know!" she cried and I could see tears welling in her eyes, though she refused to let them spill over. "I've been of marrying age for too long, I suppose. If Otoo-san and Okaa-san wait too much longer, no man will ask for my hand and all the men my age will be married so I won't find someone to fall in love with."

"That's not true. Even if you were to wait years you could still find someone to fall in love with," I objected, but Fuyumi didn't seem comforted.

She sighed and pulled me into a hug. "Please Kyo-kun, just support this decision. It's what makes the most logical sense."

* * *

><p>Now that the engagement was official, Marimoto was taking Fuyumi out on proper dates. He even bought her presents from time to time. It didn't do anything to thaw the cold gaze he always looked on her with, nor did it make her like him any better.<p>

"I almost wish he'd stop trying," she confessed to me one day in late October.

"It's like watching a shark try to be nice to a kitten," I agreed.

Fuyumi burst out laughing and I couldn't help joining her. I packed up what I'd been working on and asked my sister if she wanted to go for a walk in the park. It had just started to get truly cold here, but I appreciated the bite of the wind. I looked over to see Fuyumi trying to tame her hair into place, but she smiled as she did so. I felt like the only times she was really happy anymore were around me. Everyone else in the family just reminded her about the wedding.

"Kyo-kun," Fuyumi spoke up for the first time since leaving the house, "I want you to invite your friends to the wedding. You know, the Host Club boys."

I didn't quite understand her reasoning but I agreed nevertheless. I would tell them as soon as a date was set. Fuyumi changed the subject after that. She asked me why it had been so long since Tamaki had come over to the house. I, too, had noticed his absence at the estate in the last year, but I had pegged it down to the time we spent together in the Host Club. It was not as though I lacked seeing the ridiculous foreigner. However, Fuyumi's marriage was something I would like Tamaki to hear before the rest of the Club.

* * *

><p>After my conversation with Fuyumi, it took me some time to gather the resolve to talk to Tamaki. When I finally had, I called to him one day during Host Club. "Tamaki,"<p>

"Yes, Kyoya?"

"There's some business I would like to discuss with you after our guests have left."

"Of course, of course. Now, don't leave those pretty girls waiting."

I looked over my shoulder and, sure enough, I had two customers hanging behind me. I could tell, however, that Tamaki had understood that I had not really meant Host Club business. I pulled out a fake smile from the depths of my heart and turned to the girls behind me. "Hello, ladies."

It really was fortunate that Tamaki had created the Host Club. Before it, I had never been very good at faking a smile for someone else's benefit. I would need all the fake smiles I had in me to get Fuyumi through this wedding.

Tamaki approached me as Hikaru and Kaoru were accompanying the last of the guests out of the Third Music Room.

"What was this business you wanted to tell me about?"

"Fuyumi is getting married," I replied tonelessly.

"But that's wonderful, Kyo-kun! Don't act so depressed!" Tamaki threw his arm around me.

"The man Father has picked for her is _awful_. You should see his eyes, Tamaki. They're like chips of ice. And he barely speaks to Fuyumi or Mother or me."

Tamaki's arm grew limp around my shoulders as he understood the situation Fuyumi and I were in.

"There's no one else?" he asked.

I shook my head. "No one has asked for her hand, and it's getting too late. That's why Father…" I clenched my fists.

"It will all work out, Kyoya. Your sister is an amazing woman. She won't let herself be beaten down by a coldhearted man. And no matter what, she will always have you."

I heard myself gasp quietly. He always knew exactly what I needed to hear. "Thank you, Tamaki."

* * *

><p>When I arrived home from school that day, Fuyumi and Mother were sitting at the kitchen table with papers scattered everywhere.<p>

"What's this?" I asked.

"We're trying to come up with Fuyumi's guest list," Mother replied, trying, and failing, to sound excited. For once, she was as against Father as we were.

"We have to put all of Kyo-chan's friends on the list," Fuyumi said. She handed me a piece of paper to put the Host Club on. "By the way, did you talk to them yet?"

"I talked to Tamaki," I replied, "Still, you don't have a date yet so telling the rest of them would be a waste of time."

Fuyumi and Mother shared a knowing look.

"What's happened?" I demanded.

"Hideki came by late last night," Mother began slowly, "He said the wedding will be in December."

"December?" I repeated, incredulous.

"The sixteenth," Mother added.

"But that gives us less than a month to prepare!"

"Yes," Fuyumi agreed, "We told Marimoto that, but he was insistent that we get married before his trip in January."

I couldn't believe what I was hearing. "He's going to marry you and then leave you on some business trip?" I asked, my voice deathly quiet.

Fuyumi just stared at her lap and didn't answer.

I walked out of the kitchen without another word and into my bedroom. I threw my bag down on my bed and sat down next to it. I knew I would go back to help my sister and my mother with the wedding arrangements, especially after that bomb had been dropped, but I couldn't do it just now. Not while I was this angry at Marimoto.

Eventually I went back downstairs. I made tea us all tea and helped finalize the guest list. Marimoto had left us a sheet of paper the night before with his guests. It only had ten names on it. Not that this surprised me. On the other hand, we would be inviting family, Fuyumi's friends, Mother and Father's friends, my brothers' friends, and the Host Club, so we would have nearly a hundred people.

Once the list was ready, we addressed the invitations. This work was painstaking, especially since we couldn't talk during it. We had to focus on spelling everyone's names right, getting the addresses correct, and so on. I could tell Mother and Fuyumi were just as exhausted as I was by the time I finally wrote, "Yuki Sato" on the last envelope. Earlier in the night, I had been interested in who these people were and meeting them, but now I simply hoped I didn't run into Sato-san at the wedding. I might demand compensation from her for my developing carpal tunnel.

Tomorrow I would have to tell the Host Club about Fuyumi's wedding. That fact was wearing me down even more than the wedding preparations. So even though I was completely exhausted by the time I fell into bed that night, sleep eluded me for a long time. It was one thing to burden Tamaki with my problems: he was closer to me than the rest of the Club members. Putting that aside, I didn't want them to fuss over me. It would just make me worry more. I sighed and pulled the blankets over my head, resisting the urge to look at the clock. Tomorrow was going to be a rough day in many respects.

* * *

><p>"Eh? What are these, Kyoya?" The twins asked together, picking up their wedding invitations off the coffee table and scrutinizing the envelope closely.<p>

"We've notified our guests that the Host Club will be starting a little later today," I said neutrally. "There are some… things we need to take care of. If you would all please open your envelopes."

There was a cacophony of tearing as each of the six Hosts ripped open their letters.

"Kyo-chan's sister is getting married!" Honey exclaimed excitedly.

Hikaru, Kaoru, and Mori each reacted in a similar manner upon hearing the news. Tamaki, of course, already knew the circumstance and was directing a comforting smile my way. Haruhi, too, was staring in my direction rather than joining in the celebration of the rest of the Club. She set her invitation back down on the table and came over to where I was standing.

"Kyoya-sempia? If your sister is getting married, why do you look so upset?" she asked quietly.

That girl was always more intuitive than I gave her credit for. I sighed, glancing over to the rest of our friends. Now I had to make my decision. Should I tell them all about Marimoto?

I couldn't lie to Haruhi, but there was no point upsetting everyone. The wedding would be fun for them. They probably wouldn't even notice how horrible Marimoto was without me pointing it out. In their eyes, he was my sister's fiancé. This would immediately give them a positive opinion of him. There was no reason for me to go ruining it.

"The man she's marrying is horrible," I told her in a hushed tone.

"Oi, what's wrong guys?" Hikaru asked. The merriment from the other four boys had ceased, and they were all staring at Haruhi and me.

"I was just telling Kyoya that I don't have anything nice enough to wear to a wedding," Haruhi lied somewhat convincingly, though she was rubbing the back of her head nervously. Although, knowing Haruhi, she probably _didn't _have anything to wear to the wedding, so it really wasn't a lie.

I pushed my glasses up the bridge of my nose and sighed. "I suppose we'll have to take care of that. Tamaki, what do you think?"

Tamaki came forward from where he had been leaning against the sofa, for once being a good sport while being ignored. "I think she would look lovely in it. But your family…"

I nodded. "My family thinks all my friends are boys, yes. Still, it would be worthwhile just to see their faces."

"Wait, what are you guys talking about?" Haruhi asked, glancing between Tamaki and me.

As though this conversation had been planned, the dress dropped from the ceiling in a shower of rose petals. Haruhi started making a fuss as soon as she laid eyes on it, but to be fair she had worn far worse for the Host Club. The dress was blue and hit right above the knees. It had white ribbon to lace up the back, as well as white bows on the shoulders and around the waist.

The twins were cajoling her to wear it using appeals such as they hardly ever got to see her in girls' clothes and telling her she would look beautiful in it.

"Haruhi," I interrupted. She froze at the sound of my voice. I'm sure experience told her that I was going to ask her to wear the dress in exchange for lessening her debt. I had something else in mind this time. "Would you wear the dress, for me?"

She grabbed the dress from where it was still floating in mid air, mumbling something that sounded like, "Damn Shadow King."

I smiled. In their own way, each of the Hosts had made me feel better about Fuyumi's wedding.

* * *

><p>"Kyo-kun, wake up!" Fuyumi's voice called at my bedroom door.<p>

It was December sixteenth. I willed myself not to look at the clock. I knew it was early, but I could not give into my early-morning-monster-self today. After I'd managed to dress myself, I went downstairs to eat breakfast. Fuyumi had clearly been up for some time already because a full spread was laid out on the table.

"It's a special day so I made breakfast," she said quietly. "At least I keep telling myself that."

"You'll need it to get through the day anyway," I said with an attempt at a smile.

Mother, Father, Yuuichi, and Akito joined us shortly after that so all conversation ceased. I found myself wondering if my parents' marriage was the result of something similar to what Fuyumi was going through now. I couldn't imagine my father being romantic with any woman, let alone Mother. Perhaps things had been different before the Ootori title had fallen on him.

Fuyumi's cooking wasn't nearly as good as our chef's, but I ate everything on my plate and went back for seconds. The rest of my family chewed on theirs for awhile but didn't really eat much. I couldn't stop myself from being angry at them. This was such a small thing for them to do for Fuyumi. Especially since her cooking wasn't bad by any means, it just wasn't what we were used to. However, later, as the dishes were being cleared away by servants, I overheard Mother kindly making suggestions to my sister to improve her cooking.

I didn't see Fuyumi for the rest of the morning. Mother took her upstairs to meet her makeup artist, hair stylist and dress fitter. Father, my brothers, and myself were going to get ready as well and then head down to the church to meet Marimoto. The five of us were going to make sure everything looked right on location and prepare to meet the guests. The wedding would start at noon. Five hours and counting.

* * *

><p>This was the first time I'd seen Marimoto in anything other than khakis and a sweater. His tuxedo was the traditional black with a white pocket square, white undershirt, and a black bow tie. Nothing fancy. He did not look excited or nervous or anything a husband-to-be should look. Those grey eyes remained the same as they had on the day that I met him.<p>

I had the lowest status as the youngest son still in school, so I bowed first to Marimoto. This time, he returned it, followed by my brothers and Father. Though I noticed, Marimoto had not bowed to the level that he should have according to his position. I could tell this bothered my brothers, who had only encountered Marimoto briefly at the one family dinner, but Father pretended not to notice.

"Things appear to be just fine here," Father said, taking in the church with a cursory glance.

Everything really did look great, not that he had taken the time to make sure. Instead of standing around talking to Marimoto with the rest them, I went around to make sure everything was in order. Decorations, food, cake, chairs all as we had planned them.

It was about the time I finished checking things that Fuyumi poked her head into the chapel and waved me over into a side room where Mother and the bridesmaids were fussing over her.

"Fuyumi," I looked at my sister for the first time since the morning when she'd been wearing a plain dress and a cooking apron. "You look stunning."

Her dress was white and strapless with that cut dipped in at her breast. What did they call it? Sweetheart? It was tight to her waist where it began a gradual flare out. I'm sure there were all kinds of other subtle designs on the dress that my untrained eyes were missing. Her wavy black hair was done up in an elaborate knot that was somehow defying gravity. If nothing else, Fuyumi looked beautiful today.

"Fuyumi!" one of the bridesmaids chided, "You shouldn't have gone in there. What if Marimoto-san had seen you? It's bad luck for the bride and groom to see each other before the wedding!"

I doubted Fuyumi was really worried about that, but she apologized to her friend all the same. The bridesmaids were all dressed in purple, the accent color of the wedding. It also happened to be Fuyumi's favorite color, but when she picked it as the accent color Marimoto didn't bother to ask why. This room was definitely more boisterous than the chapel had been. All of Fuyumi's friends were flitting around her trying to talk to her at once. Fuyumi did her best to act like an excited bride, but I could tell her heart wasn't really in it. She kept shooting me glances from amongst the purple and curls, and I gave her comforting smiles.

It wasn't long before Akito popped in and said, "The guests are starting to arrive." I felt I should go back out to greet people until the ceremony started. This I wasn't a stranger to. Bowing and shaking hands and introductions to people whose names I'd never remember. It did make me feel better when the Host Club showed up.

"Look, there's Kyo-chan," I heard Honey over the din of conversation.

As my friends surrounded me, I finally started to relax a bit. I hadn't actually noticed how tense I'd been until my shoulders slackened and my face broke into a smile. My father didn't seem to noticed I'd stopped greeting guests and was talking to my friends. He was just as occupied as I'd been before they'd arrived.

Haruhi was wearing the blue dress we had given her. It was a shame my father was too caught up with family members to come over, I had been looking forward to seeing his face when I introduced Haruhi, who they thought was a boy, as a girl. I was still thankful she had worn it for me.

Time passed quickly with the Host Club there, and before I knew it everyone was seated. A great big organ began playing the wedding march and we all turned to watch Fuyumi walk down the aisle, arm and arm with Father. Though the walk was forced, they both looked fairly happy. Most of what else happened was a blur. I'm not sure if I purposely tuned it out or if it was just so dull I felt no need to pay attention. I knew the routine of weddings. I could probably recite the majority of what the preacher said myself.

Suddenly my ears were hyper focused on one line.

"Is there anyone here who believes these two should not be wed?"

Silence. The preacher took a breath to go on but then…

"Me!"

There were scrambling sounds as everyone turned to get a look at the man who had spoken. One glance and I knew I had never seen him before in my life. I looked back at my sister and instantly I knew that she knew him. The shock on her face said it all. He had wavy brown hair and glasses, but the most notable thing about him was that he was trembling from head to foot.

"Who are you, young man?" my father asked. His tone was neutral but there was a challenge hidden behind it that I knew only too well.

"Shido, sir." He bowed as low as he possibly could.

"And how do you know my daughter?"

"We went to school together, sir, and we've remained friends since," Shido replied.

"And _why_," Father's voice sounded irritated now, "Are you irrupting her wedding?"

Shido took a moment to get his bearings. "Because I want to ask for her hand. If she'll have me. If you'll have me, sir."

The chapel, which has been silent during Shido and Father's exchange, erupted into conversation. I looked at Fuyumi again. She was staring at Shido with shock and amazement in her eyes and, what appeared to be, a light blush on her cheeks. Marimoto, on the other hand, was glaring at Shido, his icy eyes turned to daggers.

Eventually Father managed to quell the uproar and resumed his conversation with Shido.

"So, you want to marry Fuyumi. That's a bold request to make on her wedding day. Just what is it that you do, Shido-san?"

Shido looked reluctant to answer, but he did anyway. "I'm still in school, sir. I'm going to be a lawyer."

"How do you presume to support my daughter while you're still in school?"

"I have a job too!" Shido said hastily. "I would get another if I had to."

Father rose from his seat in the front aisle of the chapel and walked slowly back to where Shido was standing. Shido appeared to get more nervous with every step, but he did not back down.

"Shido-san… Marimoto-san already has a well-paying job, a house, his parents are invested in my company, and he has gone through the proper lengths to gain her hand. You are still in school, you don't have money, and your future is anything but secure. Why on earth would I pass her over to you?"

"Because I love her," Shido replied simply. "I've loved her for years. Sir, I realize now is probably too late, but I also knew that I had to try. I had to tell her. Even if I'm doing it on shaking legs."

Father stared down at Shido for a long time and I could have sworn he was going to knock the unsteady man off his feet.

"I admire your nerve, boy, and your devotion. Who will it be, Fuyumi?"

"You can't do that!" Marimoto burst out suddenly.

To be honest, I was surprised he'd kept quite this long.

"Why not?" Father asked, daring Marimoto to continue.

"You can't let this woman decide her future. She can't possibly make the right decision after all this. Obviously she will choose that man because he's her friend, and he's made such a stirring speech for himself. But it's not the _logical_ choice. If she wants to be secure and happy she has to pick me and only you can make her see that truth!"

This was the most I'd ever heard Marimoto say at one time and it made me dislike him even more than I had before. Clearly, this idealism wasn't something new because Fuyumi was just shaking her head the way you do when little kids start talking nonsense. She pulled off her veil and walked back down the aisle to Shido.

To everyone's great surprise, when she met up with him, she kissed him full on the mouth and said, "It's about time!"

Shido blushed, looking extremely confused.

"I dropped so many hints that I liked you in college, but I thought you were ignoring them," she said quietly. "I thought you didn't like me."

"No," Shido replied, shaking his head. "I was just too nervous to act."

"It probably would have been easier to ask me out during college than to interrupt my wedding."

"Probably," he grinned.

I knew next time Fuyumi would get a proper wedding. Neither of us would have to worry about anything except perhaps what flavor the cake should be or what kind of flowers to get. And I wouldn't have to pull off any fake smiles for her because I wouldn't be able to stop smiling.

* * *

><p><strong>Important Author's Note: Please Read!<strong>

I'm taking this story off regular updates. I'm not ending it for good: I still have plenty of Ouran one-shots floating around in my head. The reason is I'm already having trouble keeping up two stories at once, and I'm working on a FullMetal Alchemist fanfic that should be ready to post soon. I really don't want three stories going at once. But whenever I finish an Ouran one-shot I'll still post it here, so put this story on your alerts if you haven't already!

If you were just here because you like OHSHC, then thanks for reading my one-shots. I'll try not to get too lazy and keep posting more! If you're here because you like Ouran and you like my writing enough to check out my other stuff, I would be thrilled to have you! My main work right now is a collection of Legend of Korra one-shots and, as I said, I'll be posting a FMA fic shortly. I hope to see some of you there :)


	11. Cuddling

Author's note: Hello! It's been a long time. Still, I hope you enjoy :)

Disclaimer: Still not mine.

**Cuddling**

As Haruhi was walking to the Third Music Room for Host Club, she was startled by a loud sneeze, followed by a pitiful sniffle. When her heart had stopped thundering in her chest, she looked behind her for the offender. It was Kaoru.

"Hey Haruhi," he greeted her, his voice sounding just a bit nasally.

"Kaoru, are you sick?" she asked, her demeanor softening upon realizing the perpetrator was one of her friends.

"I think it's just a cold," he replied indifferently.

"Ok," Haruhi said slowly, "just let me know if it gets any worse."

"Can do," Kaoru agreed, opening the door to the Music Room for her.

The Club went on without incident, but Haruhi could tell that Kaoru's heart was not in it. His eyes drooped whenever he thought no one was looking, he hung on Hikaru more than was necessary for showmanship, and a look of dread seemed to come into his eyes every time he realized there was yet _another_ guest. Haruhi couldn't figure out why Kaoru didn't milk his sickness for all it was worth. The guests would pity him, and it would be a great opportunity to amp up the "brotherly love" act.

The next day, both twins were sniffling, sneezing, and coughing. It was probably inevitable that Hikaru would get sick once Kaoru was sick, but that didn't stop him from complaining.

"I can't believe you did this to me, Kaoru," Hikaru whined in the math class they shared with Haruhi. It sounded rather pathetic through his stuffed up nose.

"I told you I was sorry," Kaoru replied tonelessly. He was in no mood to argue with his brother today. He sniffed and laid his head down on his desk.

"Do you guys need some medicine?" Haruhi asked from behind them. She had been preparing to squeeze past the twins to get to her seat when she overheard their conversation.

"Do you have some?" they both asked eagerly. Somehow they were still able to be in perfect unison.

Haruhi rolled her eyes and dug a bottle of bright orange liquid out of her school bag.

"What's this?" Kaoru asked suspiciously, wrinkling his nose.

"It looks toxic," Hikaru agreed.

Haruhi huffed. "It's cold medicine. Do you want some or not?"

The twins glanced at each other.

"Alright," they relented.

"But if it doesn't work, I'm gonna infect you too," Hikaru threatened.

"I'll take my chances," she retorted, passing behind them to get to her seat.

A few moments later Haruhi heard a loud, "_Ugh_!"

"Are you ok, Hikaru? I knew that stuff looked like poison!"

"It's _not_ poisonous," Haruhi insisted, sort of wishing she _had _poisoned the twins. "It just tastes bad."

"Well why didn't you warn us?" Hikaru demanded, looking as if he had just swallowed liquid soap.

"Haven't you guys ever taken cold medicine before?"

"No," they replied.

Kaoru was now staring at the bottle with great trepidation. It was a long while before he finally measured out a second dose of the offending substance, and, plugging his nose, downed it in one go. His face screwed up just as his twin's had, but eventually it smoothed out. A look of surprise came on his face as he said, "Hey, my throat doesn't hurt anymore." He pushed the bottle back to Haruhi.

"Mine doesn't either," Hikaru added. "That's some good medicine, where'd you get it?"

"A drug store," Haruhi replied, now slightly amused by their antics. It never ceased to amaze her how completely ordinary things made the Host Club so impressed. It was like the instant coffee all over again. "What do you guys normally do when you get a cold?"

"We have all these fancy teas with peppermint and honey that are supposed to make our throats stop hurting," Kaoru began.

"Yeah, and this weird steam machine that makes your nose not stuffy," Hikaru continued.

Haruhi looked thoughtful. "You'd think rich people would have _better _ways to cure colds than commoners." She grinned.

Now that both the twins were sick, they were indeed milking it for the Host Club. They had produced fluffy blankets from somewhere and sat on the couch engulfed in them. Kaoru even had his blanket pulled over his head like a hood. Their guests fussed and made tea, promising to bring them sweets on Monday. Haruhi now understood why Kaoru had waited until Hikaru got sick to complain. The guests were insufferable in their good will. She had watched Hikaru and Kaoru drink at least five cups of tea each and listen to a chorus of sympathetic squeals. Even Haruhi, who was not the subject of their ministrations, wanted to hit them.

After all the guests had left, Haruhi went up to the Hitachiin brothers. "So, you guys are gonna have a lot of candy to eat from what I heard," she grinned.

The twins rolled their eyes in perfect union.

"We might have been more excited," Hikaru began.

"If they were promising us that cold medicine," Kaoru finished. They were both staring intently at Haruhi's bag.

Haruhi sighed and went to dig the medicine out again. "You guys can have the bottle, but don't take too much!"

It was unclear whether the twins had heard her warning about taking too much, as they were too preoccupied with measuring out the bright orange liquid. Once they had both gotten their share, they looked up at Haruhi.

"Thank you," they said.

"Your medicine had made us feel better than anything the guests have tried to do for us," Hikaru told her sheepishly.

Haruhi felt a light blush come to her cheeks and she was unsure how to respond. "I hope you guys feel better," she finally said, grabbing her bag and heading out of the Third Music Room.

The next day was Sunday and Haruhi was up early to go grocery shopping. Everyone seemed to do their shopping on Sundays and Haruhi didn't like fighting the crowds that sprung up around mid-day. By eight she was carrying her purchases back to her apartment. Ranka probably wouldn't be awake by the time she got home, but Haruhi was thinking about making breakfast anyway. After she had arrived at home, she took out a few eggs and scrambled them. As the eggs cooked, she set her homework out on the table in the living room. Once her eggs were done, Haruhi put half of them in a bowl and left the other half on the stove for her father.

Haruhi had just settled down at the table, her legs stretched out underneath it, when her cell phone started to buzz. She froze with her pencil hovering in the air above her paper. There were only a few select people that knew her cellphone number. One of them was sleeping in the room next to her. The others she really had no interest in talking to at eight-thirty on a Sunday morning.

Before Haruhi could make up her mind whether or not she would answer the offending object, it went still and silent. She breathed a sigh of relief. Perhaps they wouldn't call back. Her pencil had just touched the paper when her hopes were dashed. The phone starting ringing again and she could not, in good conscious, ignore someone who had called twice to get a hold of her.

"Hello?" she answered.

"Hey Haruhi," a weak voice answered back. It was Kaoru, or at least, she thought it was. It was hard to tell the difference between the twins' voices when they were sick.

"Oh right, answer when _he_ calls," an equally sick voice said in the background. Haruhi couldn't help grinning at Hikaru's immaturity.

"Yeah, you're on speaker phone by the way," Kaoru said and Haruhi could almost hear him rolling his eyes at his brother.

"I figured. What's up?" she asked.

"Can you come over?"

Haruhi's heart did a funny little jump in her chest. She had never been to any of the Host's Houses. "Um… why?"

"Because we're still not feeling good and you make us feel better," Hikaru replied.

Normally, Haruhi would argue vehemently against going to any of the Host's Houses. She didn't feel comfortable with the idea, nor did she like feeling even more out of place with them. Surely their homes would make her feel even more like a commoner. Still… she just couldn't deny the twins when they sounded this miserable.

"I don't know where you live," she finally said.

"That's ok," the twins said, sounding marginally better.

"We'll send a car. Be ready in ten minutes," Kaoru told her. Then the phone went silent.

"Ten minutes?" Haruhi gulped. The twins lived that close to her?

Haruhi packed up a small backpack while she was waiting. She put a book, some homework, and the cold medicine she had bought at the store that morning into it. The medicine been more of an afterthought than anything else, but now she was glad she'd gotten it.

Ranka still wasn't awake and it was nearing nine o'clock. Haruhi knew that her father worked late and deserved to sleep in, but she didn't want to leave without telling him. Knocking on his door quietly, she let herself into her father's room.

"Dad?" she said quietly.

"What is it?" he mumbled, sounding almost as bad as the twins. Haruhi knew he wasn't sick though, he just wasn't a morning person.

"I'm going to take care of some of my friends, they're sick," she informed him. "Also, there are eggs on the stove for you to heat up when you get hungry."

"Mmm, thanks sweetie," Ranka replied as he rolled over to go back to sleep.

Haruhi wasn't sure he'd comprehended everything that she had said. At least now she could tell the authorities, if Ranka called them, that she _had_ told her father where she was going and hadn't been kidnapped. Her father tended to overreact at times.

Haruhi slipped on some boots and her father's big coat to keep the autumn chill off. Then she grabbed her bag and went outside to wait for the car the twins were sending. It was unmistakable as it drove up her street. Haruhi blanched. This was not a _car_ it was a _limo_. Who did they think they were picking up, Koyuki? She sighed and met the limo at the curb, not wanting to suffer through the driver coming up to her apartment to collect her. When the chauffeur opened the door, she quickly got in the back seat, hoping no one had seen them. Her driver was mercifully quiet as they drove away. Whether it was because he was quiet by nature or because he was afraid of her, Haruhi didn't care. She did not want to make small talk at the moment.

As they drove, the apartment complexes, like her own, gave way into houses. These gave way into larger houses. Pretty soon all the other homes disappeared and they were driving up a huge collegiate-like driveway. All around the drive was perfectly green, perfectly manicured grass. At the end, there was a huge metal gate, the pieces curling to form a large "H" in the middle. Haruhi stared all around her, wide-eyed, but could not help feeling annoyed at the excessive grandeur. The driver stopped at the gate and had a hushed conversation with someone over a speaker, and then the gate began to open inward. The limo drove up to a mansion so huge Haruhi had to crane her neck to see the top. She was still staring when the driver opened her door. She hastily grabbed her things and clambered out.

A sharply dressed man met her at the door. He was very tall and seemed to be comprised only of angles and lines. "If you'd follow me please, Miss Fujioka, I will take you to the Hitachiins." Haruhi nodded dumbly and followed at his heels like a trained dog. She didn't want to get lost in this huge place, she'd probably starve to death before anyone found her.

The man led her through many hallways and up some stairs before stopping at a door that looked unremarkably like the rest of the doors in the house. His knuckles made a sharp _rap_ on the door. Apparently everything about this man was sharp.

Two identical, black-haired women answered the door. Haruhi remembered them from the several times they'd forced her into girl's clothing.

"Hello Miss Fujioka, thank you for coming!" they said together.

Haruhi entered the room and was surprised to find herself in what must be one, or both, of the twins' bedroom. It made her feel nervous. Hikaru and Kaoru were lying in a giant bed, the sheets only pulled up to their waists. This left Haruhi hardly anything to the imagination, as they were both shirtless. She had seen them both shirtless before, it was true, but never in their _bedroom_.

Haruhi set her bag down on a couch by the door and wandered over to the twins. Their eyes were closed, but Kaoru's opened when he heard her approach.

"Hey, I didn't mean to wake you," she said.

"I wasn't sleeping," he replied. He nudged Hikaru. "Oi, Haruhi's here."

"Hi," Hikaru said drowsily.

"You guys look worse than yesterday. Have you been taking your medicine?" she asked, sounding very mother-like.

"We finished it all," they responded.

Haruhi sighed. "Well, I brought you some more." She turned to go get it.

"No, stay," Kaoru grabbed her wrist and pulled her to him. Haruhi fell against the bed in an awkward sitting position. She sat like that for a while and Kaoru did not release her wrist. They both started to settle back down into the bed, but Haruhi could not keep quiet.

"Why did you guys bring me here?" she asked.

"We told you," Hikaru said.

"You make us feel better," Kaoru said.

"But, I mean, what do you want me to _do_?" she insisted. "Do you want soup? Medicine? I brought a book; I could read it to you guys."

The twins sat up and shook their heads.

"Is it so hard for you to believe that just you being here helps us?" Hikaru asked.

Haruhi nodded. She didn't understand. When she was sick, all she wanted was to be left alone. She wouldn't even let Ranka take care of her anymore.

"Well, it does, so lay here with us," they said.

Before Haruhi knew what was happening Kaoru had pulled on her wrist, causing her to fall toward the space in between himself and his brother. She fell awkwardly again, her legs sprawled across Kaoru's. She quickly pulled them up to her body self-consciously. It was then that she remembered she was wearing her boots. Unlike her own home where the tatami mats required everyone to take their shoes off at the door, the Hitachiin mansion had tile floors.

"I've gotten my boots all over your bed," she said apologetically.

"It's alright," Hikaru replied, pulling them off her feet in a gesture that somehow seemed… intimate. He tossed them off the bed.

"Relax Haruhi," Kaoru admonished. "We don't bite."

"Unless you want us to that is," Hikaru added, smirking.

Haruhi rolled her eyes and stretched her legs out. She righted her head on a pillow and shuffled around, finally finding a comfortable position on her side, facing Kaoru. Haruhi and Kaoru were watching her carefully, their heads propped up on their arms. It was unnerving.

"Haruhi," the twins called her out of her reverie. She had been concentrating so hard on finding her spot.

"How would you like,"

"To be our teddy bear?"

Her eyes widened upon hearing these words. Before she could say anything, the twins had closed the gaps on either side of her body, pressing themselves against her. Hikaru's front was flush with her back, and Kaoru was almost nose to nose with her. Each of them draped an arm across her waist. Now all three of them were sharing the pillow that had been Haruhi's.

"Is this why the two of you called me here?" she asked bemusedly.

"Maybe," they replied.

"We do like to cuddle," Kaoru said. It was amazing how he was able to put the mischievous tone in his voice even when he was sick.

Haruhi hadn't truly noticed the intimacy of their position until she heard that undertone in Kaoru's voice. It was then that she started to get nervous. Her heart started beating a little faster in anticipation of what the twins might do. When they simply continued to lay there with her, she relaxed. As she listened, their breathing slowed into a sleeping rhythm. Without meaning to, Haruhi drifted off with them.

When she woke about an hour later, the three of them were a tangle of limbs. Each of them had wrapped a leg around one of her legs. Both of them still had an arm wrapped around her waist, but Kaoru's other arm had found its way under her head. Hikaru's head was no longer on the pillow beside her because his forehead was pressed against her back. Haruhi could not move without waking both of them, but her body felt _so_ stiff. Experimentally, she tried to stretch, pointing her toes. Both of the boys tried to grasp her tighter as she did this and it commenced in a sort of tug-a-war between the two. It wasn't at all violent since they were still sleeping, but it surprised Haruhi nonetheless.

Hikaru eventually won out, being the better positioned to get his hold on her. Kaoru woke then in what seemed to be frustration. Not that he had been aware of the tug-a-war while asleep, but upon waking he felt like he had lost something.

"Hey," he said quietly, all frustration leaving when he saw Haruhi.

"Hello," she breathed. "The two of you are quite possessive, even while asleep. I thought you'd be more willing to share seeing how you're twins."

Kaoru looked surprised at her words. Then he realized that Haruhi didn't understand what she was implying.

"Oh, Haruhi," he said, brushing her hair out of her face. "Can't you see that we both want you?"

Haruhi's heart made a sudden move from her chest to her throat. No, that was _not_ something she could see.

Kaoru saw her deer-in-headlights look and chuckled. "You're probably one of the only girls we know who has never thought two would be better than one. I think that's part of the reason we both like you so much. We both have to try, we both have to fight. Though it seems to me, Hikaru is winning that fight right now."

He sounded so sad that Haruhi could not imagine he was just talking about the tug-of-war. Yet, she could not bring herself to say anything. She had never discussed crushes with anyone, not even her girlfriends in middle school. Certainly she could not talk about it with the boy who had just admitted to liking her.

"Kaoru, what am I supposed to say? I'm tangled up in your brother and I've just fallen asleep with you both. Considering that, I'm not sure if I told you how I feel now it would be right."

"I don't expect anything from you, Haruhi." Kaoru smiled. "I know we can both be a little… overwhelming."

"That, I think, is an understatement," she replied sardonically.

At the sound of their laughter, Hikaru began to stir. He sighed and squeezed Haruhi tightly before opening his eyes.

"Haruhi!" he gasped. "I thought you were Kaoru."

"Surprise," she said. "Could you guys let me go now? I don't know if I'll ever get my circulation back."

The twins sheepishly disentangled their legs from Haruhi's and Hikaru released his grip on her waist. The three of them sat up and stretched. The twins could not keep themselves from sneaking glances at Haruhi, but then, she was doing the same to them. The atmosphere between the three friends was charged as each of them thought, "What happens now?"

Haruhi hurriedly excused herself, saying that she needed to go home and get homework done. The twins did not protest, they simply watched her as she gathered her things to leave.

"Thank you for coming over," they said quietly.

Haruhi smiled. An overwhelming feeling of calm came over her. Somehow, with just their thanks, they had told her everything was going to be ok. "You're welcome. I'll see you tomorrow," she replied.

The sharp man was waiting by the door. He led her back outside where the limo was also waiting for her. Haruhi leaned her head against the plush headrest as the cogs starting turning furiously in her head. She contemplated Kaoru's implied question on the short ride home. How did she feel about the twins? The car ride was not enough time for her to answer. Even after she had spread her homework out on the table again, she kept coming back to it. Dear lord those boys had gotten under her skin!

AN: This is the first time I've ever tried to do the Kaoru/Haruhi/Hikaru thing. Some people are really good at it. I decided to try it out, but I'm not really sure how I feel about it yet. Originally I intended for this to be really fluffy, but it kind of turned into my version of why Kaoru decided to give up on Haruhi.

Oh yeah, Koyuki is an actress that I mentioned in the story. She was in "The Last Samurai."


	12. Smile

AN: And now for something completely different. A drabble for you guys!

Disclaimer: I do not own Ouran High School Host Club.

**Smile**

If you asked Arai what he liked about Haruhi, he could tell you a hundred things. Her personality, her intelligence, her eyes, her determination, her obliviousness… But, if you asked Arai the _one_ thing that made him fall for her, he would answer in a heartbeat. _Her smile_.

Haruhi would catch his eye from across a crowded hallway. Arai began to know the feeling of her gaze as the years went on. Her face would immediately light up when she knew he was looking at her. Her brown eyes seemed to shine, and then her lips would turn up. When she was in a particularly good mood, more often than not, her lips would part to reveal her straight, white teeth. For that moment, Arai felt like they were the only people in the world. His heart and stomach gave him that feeling you get when you miss a stair, and you feel like you're going to fall. It didn't matter that their classmates were hurriedly passing by, slamming doors and lockers and talking animatedly. They dissolved into air when he met Haruhi's eye, and he went blessedly deaf to the noises they made.

Haruhi's smile was a special thing. Not because she didn't smile a lot, but because of the way she smiled. From the day she met Arai, without fail, she singled him out from their classmates to smile at him.

* * *

><p>AN: I've been wanting to work on my descriptive writing, so that's kind of why this is so short.<p>

I've gotten very positive feedback on "Cuddling" so I think I'm going to try another like it. I know a lot of Hikaru/Haruhi/Kaoru stories are pretty risque, and I _do not_ intend to do that, mostly because I don't support the threesome idea. Most likely, my stories featuring this shipping will be about the tension created when two people like the same person.

Until next time!


	13. Cold

AN: The weather has been acting very bipolar lately, but when I was inspired to write this a few weeks ago it was cold outside. Today it was 70. Oh well, I hope this gets you guys into the Christmas spirit regardless of the weather!

Disclaimer: I do not own Ouran High School Host Club.

**Cold**

It was snowing. The first real snow of the year. The big, white flakes danced gently down to the ground as Tamaki watched from the window of the Third Music Room. Without turning around, he addressed his fellow Hosts.

"This is perfect! Gentlemen, tomorrow we shall entertain our guests with a bonfire in this winter wonderland."

To say that Haruhi was less than excited would be an understatement. She did not like the cold, or the snow, or winter in general. Her idea of a winter wonderland was sitting under a kotatsu doing homework or reading a book. She could enjoy the snow from the safety and warmth of her apartment.

The next day Haruhi arrived at the Third Music Room to find a note taped to the door.

_Dear honored guests of the Host Club, _

_We have a surprise for you. Please join us in the back garden. _

Haruhi sighed and followed the instructions the note had given her. She was surprised to find the gardens behind the school had been transformed. An area in the middle had been cleared for a large bonfire. The heat was slowly radiating out, melting more of the snow around the fire. Bright lights had been strung through the trees and bushes. Tamaki and the rest of the Club were sitting in a giant sled filled with warm blankets and pillows.

When the boys saw Haruhi they hurried over to her.

"What do you think?" Tamaki asked, gesturing dramatically around them.

"It's fine sempai, but it doesn't matter what I think; it matters what our guests think."

Tamaki was slightly crestfallen at her matter-of-fact statement, but Haruhi took no notice. She wandered over to the bonfire to warm up before the guests arrived. The twins followed her.

"Haruhi, you'll freeze wearing gloves like that," Kaoru said, gesturing to her hands. She was wearing gloves that had the fingers cut off of them.

"I can't believe you don't even have enough money to buy real gloves," Hikaru sighed. "You should take mine."

Haruhi rolled her eyes. "I'll be fine. Besides, I want my gloves like this. They're made this way so you can use your fingers."

"Well you won't be able to use them if they get frostbite. Here," Kaoru cupped his hands around hers.

"You don't have a hat either," Hikaru complained. "Honestly, do you want to catch a cold?"

"It's really not that cold out here guys," Haruhi protested weakly. Though she had to admit, Kaoru's hands were very warm. She would never tell him this, but her hands _had_ been cold before he grabbed them. Haruhi wiggled her fingers in between Kaoru's hands to get the circulation back. He squeezed her hands gently in return.

"Aw look, Haruhi and Kaoru are holding hands!" the guests had arrived.

Without knowing why, Kaoru and Haruhi jumped apart like scolded children.

"Uh… My hands were really cold because I didn't bring better gloves!" Haruhi told the guests, showing them her bare fingers. She could not explain the blush that suddenly crept to her face. It wasn't as if they'd been doing anything wrong!

The girls mingled between their favorite Hosts. Honey became very popular when he produced graham crackers, chocolate, and marshmallows for s'mores. Haruhi wandered away from the bonfire having no interest in the sweet treats. It was colder away from the fire, and she could almost understand the twins' concern for her. As she walked around the garden, a few guests came to join her. She told them about the snowball fights she used to have after school when she was in junior high. The shocked reactions of those high-class girls always amused Haruhi. They didn't stay long though—it was much warmer by the fire.

When they saw that Haruhi was alone again, Hikaru and Kaoru went to join her.

"What are we going to do with you?" they sighed.

"Come back to the fire where it's warm," Kaoru added.

"I like to walk. It's actually very beautiful," Haruhi told them quietly.

"Fine," the twins huffed, "but you have to hold our hands." They each held out a gloved hand, Kaoru's blue and Hikaru's red.

Haruhi sighed. "You guys are being ridiculous," she said. Yet she took their hands just the same. Hikaru was on her right and Kaoru was on her left. As their soft, warm hands encircled her own, Haruhi couldn't help feeling a bit content. The boys walked around the bonfire with her once in comfortable silence. The three were looking at the lights strung up in the trees above them. They reminded Haruhi of the fairies in her children's books. There were also big red, silver, and gold bows tied on some of the tree branches.

"What's that?" Hikaru asked, pointing to a plant he had just noticed. It was hanging below one of the bows, and it had small green leaves attached to drooping stems. Bright white berries could be seen at intervals along the stems.

As though he was compelled to answer every question, Kyoya appeared out of nowhere. "It is mistletoe. According to Western tradition, when a boy and a girl are caught under mistletoe, they are supposed to kiss," he told them.

"_Kiss_?" Haruhi, Hikaru, and Kaoru asked at the same time.

"Why the heck did you put it up there then?" Hikaru asked, panicking slightly.

"For the guests," Kyoya replied. "Think of how happy they would be if they got to kiss one of us. Of course, I never expected _you three_ to walk under it." He walked away shaking his head.

Haruhi, Hikaru, and Kaoru looked at each other in silence. Finally Haruhi said, "You guys don't have to kiss me… I mean technically I'm a boy right now so—"

Kaoru interrupted her with a gentle peck on the lips. Hikaru refused to be left out, so he too kissed Haruhi. However, his kiss was deeper and lasted a bit longer. Both kisses left Haruhi's head spinning, and a very cute blush appeared on her cheeks.

Then the moment was broken.

"Moe!" screamed their guests. Haruhi blushed deeper at the fact that people had been watching them, but the guests took no notice. They were too busy speculating on the three-way relationship that must come out of these kisses.

Kaoru smiled at their reaction while his brother laughed out loud.

"A three-way attraction, huh?" they said with a smirk. Hikaru turned away to flaunt for the guests, but Kaoru lagged behind.

He pulled the mistletoe down from the tree and handed it to Haruhi. "Merry Christmas," he whispered in her ear.

Before Haruhi could react, Kaoru had run off to join his brother.

* * *

><p>AN: I know this took me a while, but I unexpectedly found myself struggling to write the KaoruHaruhi parts. I guess it's because I've been a Haruhi/Hikaru supporter for so long. Hope you guys liked it!


	14. Parlez vous Francais

AN: After yet another long absence, I bring you some of my characteristically fluffy Hika/Haru. Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I don't own Ouran High School Host Club. I also don't speak French. Anything you find here is from an online translator. If I have made any mistakes, please let me know so I can correct them!

**Parlez vous Français?**

Haruhi Fujioka was making her way to the Third Music Room for her study hour. This was not unusual. She often spent her study hour there due to the fact that the libraries were always full of chattering rich people who didn't have a scholarship to maintain. Today, however, was a little different. Today she would be tutoring Hikaru in Conversational French, which the twins had convinced her to take with them. Haruhi really wasn't sure why Hikaru had asked _her_ to tutor him. Sure, she spoke French passably well, definitely better than Hikaru, but Tamaki was _fluent_ in French. It would have made much more sense for him to do the tutoring. Haruhi thought back to the previous day, trying to remember how the mischievous twin had roped her into this.

* * *

><p>Moreau-sensei had handed back their tests at the end of class. There was a few minutes' silence in which everyone looked at their grades and read through the test. Then, naturally, everyone started comparing grades.<p>

"Eighty-four this time, not bad!" Kaoru said, showing off his test with the word "great" underneath the grade. "How did you do Haruhi? One-hundred as usual?"

She laughed, "No, ninety-seven."

Kaoru made a horrified face. "How awful, you slacker!"

Haruhi laughed again, and it was then that she noticed Hikaru was being abnormally quiet. Hikaru typically wasted no opportunity to tease her for being a bookworm, but today he was staring blankly down at his test. Without thinking, Haruhi glanced down at the paper too. She felt instantly guilty after reading the number: a sixty-one.

Having already lost control of the class, Moreau-sensei dismissed them soon after. Haruhi was normally the last one packing up, and the twins would wait for her outside the classroom. That day, however, Hikaru stayed behind with her.

"Hey, Haruhi," he began, sounding very sheepish. "I was wondering if you could help me with French."

The girl in disguise was surprised to say the least. None of the Hosts had ever shown the least bit of interest in academics.

Hikaru caught her startled look, and the corners of his mouth rose in a half-smile. "Yeah, I know it's not something I usually worry about. But even the heir to a billion-dollar fashion industry can look bad for failing French."

"You're failing?" Haruhi asked, her face changing from surprise to worry instantly.

"Not yet, but if I have another bad test like this one I will be," Hikaru said, sounding dejected. He was staring down at his feet, glancing up at her every few seconds.

Haruhi wondered if it was really possible for a person to look so much like a kicked puppy. She sighed and nodded. "I usually study French during our free hour on Wednesdays. You can join me in the Music Room if you want."

Hikaru's mood brightened immediately. "Thanks, Haruhi!" he said, ruffling her hair affectionately.

* * *

><p>Ah yes, that was how he'd caught her. The sad puppy look had always worked on Haruhi despite her strong personality. She stopped in front of the Music Room door and stared at it, suddenly feeling a little anxious. Haruhi didn't know what to expect from this tutoring session. She had never seen Hikaru study or even read a book. Was he capable of sitting still long enough? Preparing herself mentally, Haruhi opened the door.<p>

What she saw was unexpected, yet she couldn't help smiling a little. Hikaru was already there, seated at one of the tables that was usually laden with tea for the guests. However, Hikaru had in front of him a notebook, their French text book, several pencils, three different colored highlighters, a red pen, and finally a stack of notecards. He had looked up when the door opened, but now he was avoiding Haruhi's gaze in embarrassment.

"It looks like you came prepared," Haruhi said. If she didn't know better, she would have thought Hikaru was trying to impress her.

Hikaru felt his cheeks redden. "I wasn't sure what we were going to do, so I brought everything I thought we might need."

Haruhi took the chair next to Hikaru's. While she was pulling out her stuff, she said, "Well, first we have to figure out what's causing you to do poorly on the tests. It's usually one big mistake like conjugating wrong or not knowing the vocabulary. Both of those problems are pretty straightforward to fix, but you have to be willing to work at it."

Hikaru simply nodded as Haruhi went into full study-mode. She asked him for his old tests so she could see where the problem was. She was very diligent in looking at each question, even the ones he got right. For the questions marked wrong, Haruhi made a note in her notebook the number and the reason it was marked incorrect. To be honest, Hikaru wouldn't have minded if he could spend the whole study hour simply watching Haruhi. She was completely absorbed in what she was doing, a look of concentration on her face. She started absentmindedly playing with her bangs, twisting them around and around her index finger. It was undeniably cute.

"Ok," she finally said, startling Hikaru out the daze he had fallen in while watching her. "It looks to me like you're struggling a lot with the vocab. I always make flash cards at the beginning of a new chapter to help me learn the new words, so we can do that together."

They both reached for the notecards at the same time, and their hands touched briefly. Haruhi didn't seem to notice, but it made Hikaru's heart beat faster. Haruhi doled out the cards between the two of them and then opened her textbook.

"Make sure you put the accents down correctly. I forget them sometimes," she advised before diving in.

Hikaru opened his book too and started to skim the list of words. Each chapter usually had a theme to the vocabulary. The last chapter had been words related to food. Hikaru's stomach jolted when he saw what the theme was for this chapter: words to express relationships. There were familial terms like "mother," "father," and "sibling," but there were also words like "friend," "girlfriend," and "wife." Hikaru hoped Haruhi hadn't noticed his blush as he started to write the words down.

They worked silently for some time without any incidents. After a while, Haruhi put down her pencil and rotated her wrist. "How far did you get, Hikaru?"

He finished the word he was working on. "Fille," he replied. "It means…" Hikaru scrunched his eyes closed as he tried to remember the word he had just written down, "daughter!"

Haruhi chuckled. "Good job!" she said smiling at him.

I'd learn all the words in this book if it would make Haruhi smile at me like that, Hikaru thought.

"You should practice using the words in a sentence so you get a better feel for them," Haruhi told him. "Do you want to do that now so I can check your work?"

Hikaru nodded vigorously. He had gotten bored of the monotonous copying ages ago. Haruhi went back to her notecards for the time being. Hikaru pulled his notebook towards him and opened it to a fresh page. As he scanned the vocab again, an idea came to him. An idea that made his heart pound wildly. He wrote down four simple words. Then, Hikaru pushed the notebook in front of Haruhi before he could change his mind.

Haruhi looked up at him. She had intended for Hikaru to write several sentences before having her check them. She started to say so, but the words on the page made her fall silent. _Haruhi est mon amour._ Her cheeks started to turn pink. "Uh… Hikaru," she began, trying to keep calm. It's a simple mistake, that's all, she told herself. "You made a mistake. _Ami _means 'friend,' _amour _means—"

"'Love,'" Hikaru finished for her. "I know."

Haruhi thought her eyes would fall out of her head. She stared at Hikaru, trying to process what he had just told her. Hikaru, in turn, began to feel nervous under Haruhi's scrutiny. Had he misjudged? Did she not feel the same way?

"_Je t'aime aussi_," Haruhi heard herself whisper. She had not consciously decided to say the words. They seemed to jump out of her mouth of their own accord. But Hikaru was still looking at her like a deer in headlights. It was clear he had either not heard or didn't understand what she said. Haruhi blushed profusely as she repeated herself, this time in Japanese.

"I love you too, Hikaru."

It looked as if a weight had been lifted off of Hikaru's shoulders. He cracked one of his characteristic grins, trying to play the whole situation off, but inside he could hardly contain himself. Hikaru pushed back his chair and took Haruhi's hands to pull her out of her own. They stood facing each other now, Hikaru's hands wrapped around Haruhi's.

"I guess it's true what they say then," he began.

"What's that?" Haruhi asked sounding a little breathless.

"French truly is the language of love."

Haruhi started to laugh at the cliché, but she was cut off by Hikaru's lips on hers.


End file.
